Children ‘don’t deserve’ disruption of teachers’ strikes, says education secretary

Government wants ‘as many schools as possible’ to stay open during seven days of strikes from 1 February, says Gillian Keegan

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland are already taking industrial action (PA Wire)

Education secretary Gillian Keegan says children “don’t deserve” the disruption set to hit schools next month after teachers voted in favour of strike action in a bitter dispute over pay.

The National Education Union (NEU) has declared seven days of walkouts in February and March after 9 out of 10 teacher members voted for strike action and the union passed the 50 per cent ballot turnout required by law.

Ms Keegan branded the move “deeply disappointing” and said pupils were still struggling to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic on their education – admitting schools faced an “incredibly difficult” situation.