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Jan 2023

Last Updated: 19/01/2023

Education

Union predicts some Harrogate district schools will close due to strike

by John Plummer

| 20 Jan, 2023

A union official has predicted some Harrogate district schools will close because of the impending teachers' strike

Members of the National Education Union plan to strike on February 1 and stage further walk-outs in February and March.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of NEU North Yorkshire, said all primary and secondary schools across Harrogate would be impacted by strike action. He said:

"It is likely that there will be a mixture of full and partial school closures. Furthermore, plans are being made to hold picket lines at schools across the area, though these have not been confirmed yet."

Mr McVeigh-Kaye said teachers in North Yorkshire were "in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis" caused by a below inflation pay offer, school funding and a shortage of teachers. He added:

"Hardworking teachers have had enough and are now taking the only course of action open to them and withdraw their labour."

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The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, what impact it expected the strike to have on schools, who is responsible for making decisions on school closures and what measures it was putting in place to cope.

It replied in a statement:

"Information about school staff’s union membership is not retained by North Yorkshire County Council, or schools, in line with national rules on data governance, although we expect to be provided with headline data from the union on overall numbers. It is a personal decision for those members whether they participate in the strike action.

"Individual schools will co-ordinate the impact of any strike action, but we will support them with general guidance on mitigating the impact on pupils where possible, alongside the Department for Education’s own guidance.

"Headteachers will also be provided with advice from their professional associations in managing strike action within the protocols for employers when responding to strikes."

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she plans to meet union leaders this week to try to avert the strike.

Department for Education guidance says headteachers are expected to take "all reasonable steps" to keep schools open for as many pupils as possible during a strike,

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Union predicts some Harrogate district schools will close due to strike

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