London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Teachers prepare to strike in England and Wales

Teachers prepare to strike in England and Wales

Teachers in England and Wales are preparing to walk out over pay, in the first national strikes since 2016.

More than 100,000 could strike on Wednesday, the National Education Union has said - along with university staff, civil servants, train and bus drivers.

The education secretary said the teachers' strike meant "huge uncertainty for parents".

Some schools may not decide until the morning whether to close, as it depends on how many staff join the strike.

About 500,000 workers are due to take part in walkouts across a range of sectors, making it the biggest strike in more than a decade, according to the Trades Union Congress.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the strike would have a "significant impact on children's education".

But Schools Minister Nick Gibb later said he expected the "majority" of schools to be open in some capacity.

Downing Street said mass action would cause "significant disruption".

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Rishi Sunak of "weak leadership" and urged him to come to the negotiating table to sort out the "chaos".

"The Tories are in charge, and they have not only failed to find a solution to industrial action but deliberately stoked conflict," she said.

In Wales, striking teachers will be joined by support staff, while members of the National Association of Head Teachers begin action short of a strike.

Teachers are also striking in two parts of Scotland - Clackmannanshire and Aberdeen - as part of rolling industrial action.

Year 5 teacher Helen Butler will be joining a picket line in Portsmouth for the first time in her 26-year career. She has voted against strike action in the past - but this time feels different.

"We've got some teachers now that are going to food banks," she said, adding her salary had fallen in real terms over a decade.

Ms Butler said she loved her school, where she is an NEU representative, but there were insufficient resources and her workload had increased.

"We're given 10 glue sticks for a class of 30, because it's expensive. I've ended up buying my own," she said.

"I do not know one teacher who doesn't work in their holidays.

"What other job expects you to work in your holidays?"


Taking exams


Most state-school teachers in England and Wales had a 5% pay rise in 2022. But inflation means this is actually a cut, unions say. And they want to make sure it is not paid for out of school budgets.

Wednesday will be the first of seven national and regional NEU strike dates.

Schools have been advised to open for vulnerable pupils, key workers' children and those taking exams.

Some will open for certain classes only.

Children may be set work to do remotely - but striking teachers are not required to do so.

Paula Arnold, who works in a law firm in Poole, said she would not find out until Wednesday morning whether her daughters' schools would open.

Paula Arnold feels lucky to have a supportive employer


"I don't know whether I'm going to be in or out [of the office] or working from home or unable to work," she said. And working from home with children was not easy - especially if they were not set work.

"I'd like to say my kids are angels," she laughed. "Children are children. They need feeding. I don't want to just... put them in front of devices and crack on."

Ms Arnold said she wanted to stay supportive of striking teachers but needed more certainty to plan childcare.

"I end up just pulling my hair out because it's just tricky trying to juggle everything," she said.

Sam Done, the principal of Hillcrest Academy primary school, in Leeds, is unsure how many staff will be working and how many pupils could be accommodated.

"We will have to wait and see what happens, right up until the 11th hour almost, on the night before and the morning of industrial action," he said.

Schools in England will each see four days of strike action:

*  three national days

*  one affecting their region

Just over 53% of teachers in the NEU in England voted in its ballot - 90% of them supported a strike.

A secondary-school teacher in Cambridgeshire, who asked not to be named, said she understood why her colleagues were striking but she could not afford to lose the pay.

"Morally, it just doesn't sit right with me," she added.

"The kids have suffered so much through Covid and I just feel like striking and them missing another four days of school is not going to help anybody. They're already so far behind."

Teachers have already been on a national strike in Scotland - and action is continuing on a rolling basis. Most teachers in Northern Ireland will walk out for half a day on 21 February.

Teachers join a wave of public sector workers striking over pay and conditions.

Workers represented by seven different unions across the UK will strike on Wednesday.

They include:

*  Civil servants across 124 government departments

*  Rail workers at 15 different companies

*  Some London bus drivers

*  Lecturers, librarians and other university workers

Earlier, the Unison union announced its members in five ambulance services in England will strike on Friday of next week, as part of a dispute about pay and conditions.

The walkout will affect London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West.

Unison also says its members at the Environment Agency will join members of the Prospect union in striking for 12 hours next Wednesday. The action will include workers in flood forecasting and pollution control.


Watch: What do the teachers' strikes in England and Wales mean for parents?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
×