Headteachers could join new strikes likely to shut schools across England

Headteachers could join a fresh wave of strike action likely to close schools across England after the National Association of Head Teachers said it would ballot its members on industrial action over teachers’ pay.

The NAHT joins the other three main education unions in asking its members to formally approve strikes after a motion to hold a ballot was approved by its executive at its annual conference in Telford.

The National Education Union (NEU), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the NASUWT also have plans to hold formal ballots, raising the prospect of coordinated strike action over the rest of the year.

Delegates voted to endorse the ballot after Paul Whiteman, the NAHT’s general secretary, told them the pay cuts they had endured since 2010 were “unsustainable”.

“We’ve been on this cliff-edge for too long, and enough is enough,” Whiteman said. “When it comes to school funding, the government has attempted to fob off the general public with massaged figures and deceptive statistics, but it doesn’t matter if you’ve been made to study maths until the age of 18 or the age of 180, its sums just don’t add up.

“The truth is that school funding is still below the level it was 13 years ago in real terms. Now, the government can try and dazzle us with talk of record funding increases, blind us with its figures in the millions and billions, and emphasise its commitment to the sector, but it can’t pull the wool over our eyes.”

The NAHT balloted its members on industrial action at the end of last year but narrowly failed to surpass the 50% participation rate required by law, with union officials blaming the postal strike for members being unable to receive ballots.

The NEU gave notice that it would open balloting from Monday for renewed authorisation to hold strikes until the end of the year. So far the NEU has held five days of national and regional strikes in England, with a further national strike planned for Tuesday.

Dr Mary Bousted, the NEU’s joint general secretary, accused the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, of “washing her hands” over the teachers’ pay dispute by refusing to reopen talks.

“The secretary of state, who remains by some distance the biggest obstacle to getting a sensible resolution, needs to address this issue head on and come to the negotiating table with all the education unions. This wilful lack of engagement will be something that parents and teachers will not forget,” Bousted said.

In March, the government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment alongside an average 4.5% pay rise next year after talks. But members of the four unions have all rejected the pay offer by substantial margins.

Keegan has refused to reopen talks, saying she will wait until she receives recommendations from the independent school teachers’ review body for the 2023-24 pay award later this summer.