On the day of the National Education Union’s teacher strikes, a blog from the Department for Education stated that 90.7% of schools remained open to some or all pupils (DfE, 2023a).
It was a determinedly positive gloss on statistics which, in reality, are bleak (DfE, 2023b).
For example, only 17.4% of secondary schools were estimated to be fully open, with 73.6% open but restricting attendance, and 9% closed. We recorded a pattern which was not far off these figures in our own snapshot survey on the day of the strike (ASCL, 2023).
And, of course, in many of the schools which were open with restricted attendance, the number of students on site was very low.
Hugely significant
So the truth is that the impact of the strike was hugely significant with most schools affected to a greater or lesser degree. That is the point of a strike. It is meant to cause disruption.
Which is why the government is keen to downplay its impact. The DfE blog went on to – not entirely subtly – thank headteachers and staff “who continued to work today, so a significant number of pupils will have not experienced disruption to their education”.
It could not really be a more obvious attempt to drive a wedge between colleagues – another textbook tactic for undermining industrial action. The reality, however, is that school leaders and teachers – striking and non-striking – are united in their frustration with a government that does not listen.
Catastrophic extent
Since 2010, the government has devalued teaching to a catastrophic extent. Salaries have fallen in real terms and workload has increased as schools have been starved of resources and loaded with additional responsibilities. As a result, recruitment figures for initial teacher training are a disaster, and far too many teachers leave the profession early in their careers.
A recent poll carried out by ASCL (2022) found that 95% of the headteachers and principals who responded were experiencing difficulties in recruiting teachers.
The government has been told all of this on repeated occasions by unions, teachers and school leaders. There are many reports from various respected independent research organisations and experts setting out these unsustainable pressures on the education system in forensic detail.
Little or no heed
But the government has paid little to no heed, ploughing on year after year with a process in which it tells the school teachers’ pay review body what it considers is affordable, and then generally accepts the resulting recommendation.
What may shake it out of its complacency, however, is the fact that most parents aren’t blaming teachers and unions for the strike – they are blaming the government.
A survey by Parentkind (2023) found that 54% of the parents polled supported the strike action, while only 36% opposed it; 63% agreed that teachers should receive a pay settlement in line with current inflation figures.
This is reminiscent of the 2017 General Election when concerns about school funding caused more than 750,000 voters to change the party they intended to support – and Theresa May lost her Commons majority. (George, 2017).
Meaningful negotiations
There is now a window of opportunity to resolve this dispute as the next strike date in England – for a regional strike covering the North of England – is not until February 28. Between now and then, the government must do the right thing for teachers, parents and children by taking part in meaningful negotiations.
The much-publicised “talks” which have so far taken place between education secretary Gillian Keegan and education unions are just that – talks. It’s good to talk, of course, but it is difficult to make any progress when there is no offer on the table to discuss. So far, the table has been distinctly bare.
Last resort
So, the ball is now in the government’s court. Nobody wants to strike. The overwhelming feeling among all concerned has been one of sadness that it has come to this as a last resort.
Everybody with a stake in education – parents, governors, school leaders, and staff – will be hoping for a settlement which averts further strike action and addresses the severe teacher shortages which damage education every day of every week.
But, if there is not a settlement and the industrial action continues, the public may well respond in a similar way to 2017 and take the side of schools over a government with such a terrible track record on education.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak and his ministers would do well to bear this in mind. There’s the spectre of a General Election on the horizon. And parents are already showing that they are in no mood to be patronised or misrepresented by government spin doctors.
Because what parents want is what all of us want: graduates choosing to become teachers, feeling valued in their work, having a reasonable work/life balance, and then remaining part of this great profession.
That’s what February 1’s action was about. And that’s what the government should set about delivering.
- Geoff Barton is general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. Read his previous articles for SecEd, via http://bit.ly/seced-barton
Further information
- ASCL: Snapshot survey suggests majority of schools affected by teacher strike. February 2023: http://bit.ly/3HUuM9K
- ASCL: ASCL survey shows teacher shortages at crisis point, July 2022: http://bit.ly/3JE77vE
- DfE: Over 90% of schools open during strike action, February 2023a: http://bit.ly/40ot9bz
- DfE: Ad-hoc notice: School closure during the 1 February 2023 teacher strike, February 2023b: https://bit.ly/3kXaByW
- George: 750,000 voters switched support as a result of school funding cuts, survey finds, Tes, June 2017: http://bit.ly/3X3wSsd
- Parentkind: Parents come out in support of teachers as industrial action begins (media release), February 2023.