Live
Follow Richard Adams's live
coverage as thousands of schools are closed by national strike over pay,
pensions and working conditions
Latest
“Here's a last list of the latest
updates we've seen, as councils continue to post final numbers:Central
Bedfordshire - 7 closures or partial closures…”
– NUT school teachers strike
A boy in Liverpool waves a flag in support
of the Nation Union of Teachers (NUT) during today's strike by teachers
across England and Wales. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Here's a last list of the latest updates we've seen, as councils continue to post final numbers: Central Bedfordshire - 7 closures or partial closures (7 closed)
Croydon – 64 closures or partial closures (18 closed, 46 partial) Newham - 78 closures or partial closures (33 closed, 45 partial) Suffolk - 72 closures or partial closures (13 closed, 59 partial) East Sussex - 74 closures or partial closures (41 closed, 33 partial) West Sussex - 41 closures or partial closures (10 closed, 31 partial) Swindon - 20 closures or partial closures (10 closed, 10 partial)
[Thanks to Louis Degenhardt for his hard work in compiling these numbers.]
Gove and stress on the minds of marchers in London
Ben Jackson clutches a placard during a National Union of Teachers march in Birmingham today. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
The Guardian's Haroon Siddique was at the NUT march through central London this afternoon, and talks to some teachers who were there on strike:
The
official reasons for the
strike were increasing workloads, the pension age going up and the
value of pay packets falling but Alastair Jack, 25, who had traveled
from Nottingham, said: “It’s much more. The whole idea that
education isn’t in the hands of educationalists isn’t right. It’s in the
hands of a man whose motivation seems to be political.”
One of many
strikers holding a "Gove out” placard, Jack said he had lost
faith in the education secretary. “He doesn’t seem to take any account
of the educational experts, he said. “These ideas just come into his
head and he gets them out as quick as he can.”
Sarah Edwards from Southwark, in south London, said that, for her,
Gove was not personally the target of the strike: “We want to remind the
country it’s about individual children, not about targets all the
time,” she said. “The stress they’re putting on headteachers is going
down to other teachers and then it goes down to the children. I feel
like the people who are in charged don’t have an idea of what education
is about.”
When asked why he was
there, 59-year-old Kevin Carty, a teacher in Waltham Forest, north-east
London said the reason was “a four-letter word” pointing to his own
“Gove out” banner.
Carty described the education secretary as “the most obdurate, divisive
political figure this country has seen since [Margaret] Thatcher. People
I teach with who regard themselves as moderate are spitting feathers
every time he opens his mouth.”
He was unsure about public support for
the strike. “I think anybody who works for the public sector is
definitely on our side – the rest I’m not sure,” said Carty. “I am a
parent myself and I can understand people have childcare issues and have
taken a day off. But if parents really look at the damage that’s being
made to education at the moment they will understand.”
Police: 10,000 took part in London NUT march
The TES reports some big numbers from central London:
Update on school closures around the country
Here's a further list of the latest updates we've seen: Blackpool - 23 closures or partial closures (13 closed, 10 partial) Buckinghamshire - 35 closures or partial closures (5 closed, 30 partial) Cheshire West and Chester - 50 closures or partial closures (10 closed, 50 partial) Cumbria - 49 closures or partial closures (39 closed, 10 partial) Gloucestershire - 37 closures or partial closures (4 closed, 33 partial) Lambeth - 66 closures or partial closures (29 closed, 37 partial)
A child with an NUT flag during a march in Liverpool this afternoon. Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersLeicestershire - 52 closures or partial closures (22 closed, 30 partial)
DfE says 'under a quarter' of schools in England closed
The Department for Education has told the BBC that "well under a quarter" of schools in England were
closed today, compared with about 60% during the bigger of the two national
strikes in 2011.
If so that's still a good result for the NUT,
since the June 2011 strike included four teachers' unions, among them
NASUWT, rather than just the NUT alone as today's does.
The BBC is also reporting that there are 472 partial closures and 297 full closures of state schools in Wales, out of a total of more than 1,700 schools.
Teachers marching by Monument in Newcastle
in support of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) during a one-day
walkout by teachers across England and Wales. Photograph: Owen
Humphreys/PA
Updated
Teachers react to today's strike
Over at the Guardian Teachers Network, teachers for and against today's strike explain their responses to today's action.
In favour of the strike is Emma Ann Hardy, a primary teacher in Hull:
Constant government change means teachers' workload
is crippling and teachers are leaving. No parent wants their child's
education disrupted by teachers leaving part way through the year to be
replaced by a series of supply or unqualified teachers.
I honestly
do not know what else I can do. I love my job. I love teaching. I do
not love what is happening to my beloved profession.
Against industrial action is Jo, a geography teacher:
I have been teaching for six years and love my job. It is a tough job
and one that is often criticised or misinterpreted, so I can understand
those who feel the need to stand up for teachers' rights.
I will
not be striking because I generally disagree with the principle. I come
from a background where we were always concerned about the greater
impact of our decisions upon others. I'm conscious that striking can
cause grief for others who are not in control and for hard-working
individuals who have to take time off work (possibly even losing their
own pay) to look after children.
Sheffield rally
Messages: the working environment is toxic for teachers. People are
sick and angry. Only if we fight together will our voices be heard!
There
has been no national campaign against NASUWT members regarding strike
action. There has been no negative campaigning from the national NUT
headquarters and the NASUWT has not brought this to our attention. We
continues to engage in talks with Government alongside the NASUWT and
other teacher unions to resolve the very pressing issues that face the
teaching profession.
So far, NASUWT has not offered any comment on the memo.
A piquant sign from today's London march:
The NUT march in London, as seen by Newsnight's Chris Cook:
Yorkshire: 644 schools affected in west, south and north of the county
BBC Look North in Yorkshire has helpfully compiled some totals of school closures taking place today in west, south and north of the county.
In West Yorkshire 121 schools are closed, 256 schools are partially closed
In South Yorkshire 78 schools are closed, 92 schools are partially closed
In North Yorkshire 29 schools are closed, 68 schools are partially closed
The total number of schools affected is 644, which equates to about 38% of all schools in the three counties.
Updated
Day of strikes hits schools across England and Wales
Here's a morning summary of what we know about the Nationa Union of Teachers strike so far today:
• Pupils across England and Wales will miss a day of school as teachers joined rallies, marches and picket lines to protest against
changes to their pay, pensions and working conditions
• NUT leaders said early indications were that the strike was well-supported by its members.
The NUT's general secretary Christine Blower said: "The message
we are getting is that the action is well-supported. On the back of the
60-hour week workload diary survey teachers are just feeling
overwhelmed"
• Manchester, Leeds, Brighton and parts of London are among the cities with high proportio0n of schools closed, while the Wirral, County Durham and Wales have also seen widespread closures
• Schools minister David Laws
said that the strike was "totally unnecessary and wrong," telling Sky
News: "I think it is very sad that the National Union of Teachers
have decided to take this industrial action. I don't believe that it is
supported by the overwhelming majority of teachers"
• A leaked email
from Chris Keates, the general
secretary of the other major teaching union, NASUWT, is alleged to
have complained of "abusive social media campaigns being run by NUT and
the
aggressive accusations made against us nationally"
Update on school closures around the country
Here's a quick list of the latest updates we've seen: Cambridgeshire - 74 closures or partial closures (21 closed, 53 partial) Peterborough - 16 closures or partial closures (1 closed, 15 partial) Oxfordcity - 96 closures or partial closures (24 closed, 72 partial) Hull - 36 closures or partial closures (2 closed, 34 partial) Bolton - 73 closures or partial closures (41 closed, 32 partial) Hackney - 51 closures or partial closures (32 closed, 19 part closed)
Updated
Unison reminds members not to cover for striking teachers
Unison, the public services union, sends a reminder to its staff that they "should not take on any additional responsibilities
being given to them directly as a result of the teachers' industrial
action":
School support staff should not be expected to provide cover for or
take classes, where this would normally be done by teachers who are
taking action.
In particular, higher-level teaching
assistants or cover supervisors should only be taking classes or
providing cover where they are contracted to do so, where it is
timetabled or where it is a part of their normal duties.
Nottinghamshire county council has a list of school closures and disruptions, while in Nottingham city itself nine schools are closed and 35 partially closed.
Updated map of strike hotspots and school closures
Here's an amended and updated version of our map of school closures reported around the country.
Updated
Laws: the NUT doesn't talk to me
Here's a clip of schools minister David Laws talking to an unimpressed Eamonn Holmes on Sky earlier today.
David Laws on Sky News this morning
When Laws complains that the NUT has "never said that to me," Holmes points out that Laws hasn't talked to the NUT.
A teacher makes the mistake of listening to radio call-ins about today's strike:
Im striking because I work an average of 60 hours per week,
including at least one day of the weekend. This average week means that
before Tax, NI, Pension and Student loan contributions I earn £7.30 per
hour; £1.20 more than the average fast food restaurant employee.
Mr Gove, in his infinite wisdom, now wants me to work longer hours, with more responsibilities, for less pay.
Getting teenagers through their A Levels is challenging; getting
teenagers through some of the most important exams of their education,
whilst being paid the equivalent of someone with little to no
qualifications and being told that you’re not working hard enough is too
much to ask of anyone, no matter how rewarding their job is.
NUT executive member Martin Powell-Davies tweets out a shot of a picket line in Lewisham this morning.
NASUWT complaints of 'threats' posted on Facebook
The Daily Telegraph has a report of complaints by NASUWT leaders
– which joined the NUT in its strike action last year but opted not to
this time – of intimidation of its members and “abusive social media
campaigns” by the NUT:
A leaked internal email apparently sent out by Chris Keates, the general
secretary of NASUWT, said that while members should not try to undermine the
strike action, it was not their responsibility to make it a success.
The email, circulated on social
media, said: “We should not tolerate any threats, insults or attempts to
intimidate our members or activists by the NUT. Unfortunately, in some
areas, this has been a hallmark of the activity to date.”
The letter also claims the NUT has run “abusive social media campaigns” and
made “aggressive accusations” against members of NASUWT.
So far, the NUT has officially denied the union has made any public criticism
of NASUWT, while NASUWT itself has declined to comment.
The leaked email allegedly written by Keates was posted on Facebook, and in part it reads:
We should not tolerate any threats, insults or attempts to intimidate
our members or activists by the NUT. Unfortunately, in some areas, this
has been a hallmark of the activity to date. The NASUWT, as an
independent trade union, has made its decision with regard to industrial
action strategy and that should be respected by a sister trade union.
You will note that there has been no public criticism by us of the NUT
despite the abusive social media campaigns being run by NUT and the
aggressive accusations made against us nationally which I am sure your
National Executive Members will have briefed you about. Members must be
supported robustly and protected if they face pressure or abuse from the
NUT and any incidents should be reported to your National Executive
Member and copied to me.
Updated
Map of school closures reported in England and Wales
Here's a visual representation of school closure hotspots, which
will be updated as we go along and as data comes available, via the
Guardian's George Arnett.
Map of school closures through strike action in England and Wales. Source: George Arnett
David Evans, Wales secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT),
had warned that a "large number" of schools would be closed "if not
completely then partially" as teachers take part in the national strike.
In Cardiff, 94 school are closed today while in Powys there are at least 14 school fully closed and in Gwynedd there are 34.
Mr
Evans said: “We are looking to protect the profession. No one wants
teachers who are disenchanted. It is important that teachers make a
stand now.
“We have close to 17,000 members in Wales and we generally have a very good response to strike action here .”
A modern measure of success?
Here's one possible sign that today's strike is a success: the
National Union of Teachers' website has fallen over, presumably because
of heavy traffic.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is not happy. That much is
clear as the group, which claims to be the largest teachers union in the
UK, stages another national strike.
This time fellow teaching
union NASUWT, which also claims to be the largest in the country, won’t
be joining but thousands of state schools, especially primary ones, are
likely to be affected.
There are several grievances but they
generally boil down to workloads, pensions and pay.
Parts of Sussex appear to be relatively hard hit by the strike, with
more than 170 schools confirmed as closed, according to the BBC, in the
east and west divisions of the country.
Many of the closures appear to be in Brighton, where Brighton and Hove city council has an updated list of schools that lists more than 70 as closed, most of them primaries.
Cornwall: 63 schools closed or partially closed
Cornwall council says that 63 schools across the county are confirmed as being fully or partially closed today due to
industrial action. It has an updated list on its website here.
County Durham: 58 schools closed or partially closed
The excellent Northern Echo reports that hundreds of schools in the north-east of England will be closed or partially closed by today's strike:
One of the worst hit areas is County Durham where 58 schools – mainly
primary but some secondary – will be closed or partially closed while in
Darlington five schools will close and 15 will partially close.
In North Yorkshire the strike will force 24 schools to close for the day and partially close another 46.
Three schools will close in Stockton while in Hartlepool two will close and 12 will partially close.
Meanwhile, via Twitter, a photo of NUT members outside Charles Thorp comprehensive school, a secondary school in Tyne and Wear.
Updated
Laws: strike is 'totally unnecessary and wrong'
Schools Minister David Laws appears on Sky News to tell Eamonn Holmes that the industrial action by teachers is a mistake:
We have seven major teaching and head teaching unions in
this country. All of them are in talks with us. Six of them are not
striking today.
I think it is very sad that the National Union of Teachers
have decided to take this industrial action. I don't believe that it is
supported by the overwhelming majority of teachers.
Laws offered to speak to the NUT, which responded via Twitter:
Updated
Wales: 300 schools closed, 460 partially closed
The NUT's Welsh arm is saying that it expects 13,000 teachers to go on strike today across Wales. The BBC reports:
More than 460 schools will be partially closed and nearly 300
completely shut as a result of the action and parents are advised to
check council websites.
While some schools will have to close completely, most
secondary schools will be open for pupils studying for their GCSEs and
A-levels.
"I don't think anyone can accuse the NUT of taking this
strike action lightly," said NUT Wales secretary David Evans, who
stressed that earlier planned action has already been called off twice.
"Unfortunately teachers across Wales really do feel as if they are left with little alternative."
Thirty-six schools in Liverpool, 14 schools in Sefton and 20 in Wirral are expected to close on Wednesday.
But the full picture is still unclear, with some schools yet to
confirm whether they will shut.
Out of 92 schools in Sefton, 35 will be partially closed – meaning
some classes will not take place or lessons will be cancelled for some
year groups – but 17 have yet to confirm their plans.
Fifty-four schools in Wirral will hold some lessons as normal and 27 will stay open.
The figures do not include academies, which are out of the control of councils.
Harry Webb, a teacher in Australia, has a mischievous question via Twitter:
Wolverhampton and environs: more than 100 schools closing
The Wolverhampton Express and Star says more than 100 schools will be closed in its circulation area, and has an updated list of those affected:
Dozens of schools across the Black Country, Staffordshire and Wyre
Forest areas face disruption when the National Union of Teachers stages
its one-day strike over pay and conditions. The strike will leave
parents having to find childcare as many of them will be shut.
NUT president: strike action will be 'well supported'
The Press Association's hardworking education correspondent Alison Kershaw offers this summary of today's industrial action by the NUT:
The one-day walkout, called by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) –
one of the biggest teaching unions – is the latest move in its
continuing campaign of industrial action.
Union leaders said the early indications were that the strike was well-supported.
The action has been condemned by the Department for Education which
says that it will disrupt parents' lives and damage children's
education.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "Certainly the message
we are getting is that the action is well-supported. On the back of the
60-hour week workload diary survey teachers are just feeling
overwhelmed." She said rallies and marches are taking place all over the country and that "people will be out and about".
Yesterday,
David Cameron's official spokesman said the prime minister would call
on teachers not to strike because the action "disrupts children's
education and children's families".
Updated
Parents are the 'crucial battleground' for success
Part of the problem is the sheer
lack of imagination displayed by the NUT Exec: another strike? What
really? Are there no other campaigning tools you can think of? The world
has erupted in single-issue campaigns and even revolutions over the
last 20 years, all running with new and different ways of getting
messages across, and yet the NUT still thinks “all out” is the right
tool for every job.
Instead, he says, "To make this in any way effective as a tactic, the response of the parents is the crucial battleground."
The Oxford Mail does a good job
rounding up the schools in Oxfordshire that are affected by today's
strike – and details that 195 of the county's schools will be open as
usual.
NUT leaders hit the airwaves
The National Union of Teachers' leadership is out on force this
morning, appearing on morning television news programmes to make their
case and explain to parents why their child might be missing a day of
school.
President Christine Blower was on ITV's Daybreak, while her deputy Kevin Courtney has just been on Sky News.
Gove v Blower over the state of negotiations
On the eve of the NUT's strike, education secretary Michael Gove sent a letter around all the teachers' unions detailing his view of the negotiations:
I have been following the progress of the weekly talks closely and am encouraged by reports
from the meetings so far. I hope you also feel that we are making good progress.
On the substance of what has been discussed so far, I can see the case for a number of the
arguments you have put forward. In particular, I am keen to ensure that we tackle any
unnecessary bureaucracy, which I know is an aim that you share given your concerns about
workload. I am committed to reducing further the bureaucratic burdens on teachers and am
grateful for your views and ideas on how this can be achieved.
Mr Gove’s letter shows how little he listens to the concerns of
teachers and how little progress has been made in the talks process. His
letter confirms why we are right to strike.
The Secretary of State has attended none of the talks, nor have other
ministers. The talks are with civil servants who are forbidden by Mr
Gove from straying into areas of policy. The talks are only allowed to
discuss how Mr Gove’s policies are implemented.
Nevertheless NUT has participated fully in the talks because we will
use any avenue to seek improvements for teachers and thereby to defend
education.
Thousands of schools
in England and Wales are to close or be affected by today's national
strike called by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), with primary
school mpupils most likely to receive an unscheduled day out of the
classroom.
We will be liveblogging the day's action and following
which parts of the country have been most affected by the strike, called
in protest at what the NUT argues is the government's refusal to
negotiate over changes to pay and pensions, as well as classroom working
conditions.
Here's our coverage from this morning's print edition:
Parents juggling childcare and work are likely to face most disruption in the NUT's London and Manchester strongholds.
Manchester
city council said 73 schools would close, 55 would partially close and
only 39 would be fully open. In Liverpool, 46 schools will close and a
64 will close to some year groups, leaving only 14 fully open. In
Newcastle, however, 80 schools will be unaffected and 25 will be
partially closed.
In London, Enfield is set to be
hardest hit, with 37 schools closed, including more than half of the
borough's primaries, 27 partially closed and only seven opening as
usual.
In Newham, 33 schools will be closed, 45 partially closed
and 11 open. In south London, Lambeth said 24 of its schools would be
closed, 26 partially closed and just 12 open.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário