Teacher strikes could disrupt end-of-year school trips and sports days – poll

Members of the National Education Union in England are set to stage fresh walkouts on July 5 and 7 in an ongoing dispute over pay.

The planned teacher strikes next month could disrupt sports days, a survey suggests (PA) (PA Archive)

The planned teacher strikes next month could disrupt sports days, school trips and transition days for pupils, a survey suggests.

Teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) in England are set to stage fresh strikes on July 5 and 7 in an ongoing dispute over pay.

One in six (17%) teachers said pupils are scheduled to be on day trips on the strike dates, a poll suggests.

A poll by Teacher Tapp, of 6,952 school teachers in England, found that 14% said their school has planned sports days on one of the two strike days.

Overall, 4,605 secondary school teachers and 2,347 primary school teachers were surveyed on Monday after the NEU announced further walkouts.

It may put teachers in difficult positions, as these are one-off experiences for students that are difficult to replicate

Laura McInerney, chief executive of Teacher Tapp

Nearly two in five (39%) secondary school teachers said transition days – in which Year 6 pupils visit their new secondary schools ahead of their official start date in September – are planned on those dates.

The poll found that 12% of primary school teachers said their schools had concerts or performances planned on one of the strike days.

Only one in three (33%) teachers surveyed said there were no transition days, student trips, sports days, concerts or performances, or work experience placements scheduled for the planned strike dates in just over a fortnight.

Laura McInerney, chief executive of Teacher Tapp, said: “The wide range of potentially disrupted activities including sports days, residential trips and concerts, shows how much schools do beyond their teaching remits.

“On the one hand, putting strike actions on these days may make the disruption more noticeable; on the other hand it may put teachers in difficult positions, as these are one-off experiences for students that are difficult to replicate.”

Only the Government can avert further strikes and repair the damage to the education system, and that requires a commitment to a decent and fully funded pay award

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “We regret the disruption caused to education by our strikes and we support the rearrangement of transition days where possible – as some local authorities are considering.

“We grant exemptions to members involved in school trips that cannot be rearranged.

“However, the disruption to children and young people’s education occurs daily due to the running down of the education service by Government. This cannot go on.”

After intensive talks with the education unions, the Government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year.

But all four education unions rejected the offer.

The decision on teachers’ pay in England for next year has been passed to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

The NEU – alongside three other education unions – are currently balloting their members in England to take action in the autumn term.

On Tuesday, the NEU, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), school leaders’ union the NAHT, the National Governance Association (NGA) and Unison staged a mass lobby of Parliament, which raised concerns about pay, funding, staff shortages and accountability pressures.

Ofsted has said it will schedule notifications and on-site inspections to avoid the two days of national strikes next month.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: “Let’s be in no doubt that this is a situation of the Government’s making through its neglect of the education workforce and its refusal even to resume formal negotiations let alone reach a meaningful settlement.

“Only the Government can avert further strikes and repair the damage to the education system, and that requires a commitment to a decent and fully funded pay award.”