Strike closes thousands of schools
Updated on 24 April 2008
Thousands of schools are closed in the first national teachers' strike in over 20 years. James Blake has been investigating.
One in three schools in England and Wales are affected by the walkout, which has been called by the National Union of Teachers.
The action, which is in protest at below-inflation pay increases, coincides with similar walkouts by other public sector workers, ranging from coastguards to driving instructors, together making the most wide-ranging series of strikes in more than a decade.
James Blake reports.
'Third' of schools close over strike
The leader of striking teachers today issued a plea to the Government to stop the "downward spiral" in pay as thousands of schools were hit by the first national walkout for over a generation.
Teachers handed out leaflets to parents outside some schools explaining why they were taking action.
There were also more than 50 rallies across the country with striking teachers joining civil servants involved in separate rows over pay.
Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the NUT told PA that in some areas 90 per cent of schools were affected by the strike.
"We expect the strike to be well supported, even where schools only have a few NUT members. During the week we have been receiving reports that more of our members were deciding to join the strike."
Ms Blower said the union conceded that teachers' pay had increased during the early years of Labour returning to power in 1997, but she complained that a series of below-inflation rises in recent years had sent wages into "reverse."
She added: "We are in a downward spiral and recruitment is now showing a serious downturn. My message to the Government, is let's make sure this does not continue."
Schools Minister Jim Knight said that there was no justification for the strike and urged the NUT to follow the example of the other unions and accept the pay review body's recommendation.
"I share the anger of parents who see their children missing out on education so close to their exams and are having to make alternative arrangements to look after their children today - some of them taking days off work," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Closures in your area
New estimates compiled by the Press Association and the Local Government Association show that around 2,000 schools will be forced to close and a similar number will be partially shut.
More than half of schools will close in some areas, but other parts of the country will not be so hard hit, especially if membership of the National Union of Teachers is low.
The likely impact on schools includes:
Denbighshire - 28 closed (43 per cent), 16 partially closed (25 per cent).
Gwynedd - Five closed (4 per cent), three partially closed (2 per cent).
Anglesey - 29 closed (51 per cent), five partially closed (9 per cent).
Conwy - 25 closed (34 per cent), 14 partially closed (19 per cent).
Flintshire - 36 closed (40 per cent), five partially closed (6 per cent).
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council - total schools 77, of which 45 are closed/part closed.
Blackpool Council - 55 per cent either closed or part closed.
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council - total schools 59, of which 34 are closed/part closed.
Bolton MBC - total schools 124, of which 66 are closed/partially closed.
Cumbria County Council - total schools 358, of which 148 are closed/part closed.
Lancashire County Council - total schools 652, of which 86 are closed.
Manchester City Council - total schools 169, of which 117 are closed/part closed.
Oldham Borough Council - total schools 109, of which 65 are closed/part closed.
Rochdale Council - total schools 92, of which 60 are closed/part closed.
Salford City Council - total schools 105, of which 35 are closed/part closed.
Kent - total schools 594, of which 13 are closed and 67 partially closed.
Medway - total schools 81, of which two schools are closed and 23 partially closed.
West Sussex - total schools 296, of which 60 are closed and 15 partially closed.
Brighton & Hove - 44 schools closed, 11 partially closed.
Newcastle - total schools 95, of which 42 are closed and 24 partially closed (69.5 per cent of total).
North Tyneside - total schools 78, of which 20 are closed and 30 partially closed (64 per cent of total).
County Durham - total schools 59, of which none are closed and 15 partially closed (25 per cent of total).
South Tyneside - total schools 71, of which 30 are closed, 19 partially closed (69 per cent of total).
Leeds - 23 closed, 93 partially closed.
Sheffield - 20 closed, 86 partially closed.
Hull - 17 closed, 24 partially closed.
Bradford - 27 closed, 52 partially closed.
Calderdale - 17 closed, five partially closed.
Wakefield - 12 closed, 42 partially closed.
Cornwall - 16 closed, 27 partially closed.
Wandsworth, London - eight schools and one special school closed.
Lambeth, London - 33 closed.
Newham, London - 83 closed or partially closed.
Tower Hamlets, London - 31 closed, 44 partially closed.
Hounslow, London - 24 closed, 30 partially closed.
Havering, London - 19 closed, 42 partially closed.
Camden, London - 25 schools, three special schools and one pupil referral unit closed or partially closed.
Haringey, London - 27 closed, 13 partially closed.
Devon - 41 schools and four special schools closed, 19 partially closed.
Liverpool - 36 closed (18 per cent), 31 partially closed (15 per cent).
Cheshire - 34 closed (10 per cent), 64 partially closed (19 per cent).
Wirral - 48 closed (35 per cent), 39 partially closed (28 per cent).
Warrington - 15 closed (12 per cent), 26 partially closed (30 per cent).
Halton - 31 closed (44 per cent), 17 partially closed (24 per cent).
Knowsley - 28 closed (38 per cent), 31 partially closed (42 per cent).
St Helens - 15 closed (23 per cent), 32 partially closed (49 per cent)
Sefton - 14 closed (13 per cent), none partially closed.
Bath and North East Somerset - 20 schools affected (26 per cent of total).
Somerset - 30 closed/partially closed (11 per cent of total).
Bristol - 45 closed, nine partially closed.
Gloucestershire - 54 schools gave advanced warning of closure.
Hampshire - 17 closed, 23 partially closed (500 open).
Portsmouth - 12 closed, 18 partially closed (38 open).
Southampton - 16 closed, 20 partially closed (45 open).
Isle of Wight - six closed, 12 partially closed (51 open).
Dorset - 20 closed, 13 partially closed (145 open).
Bournemouth - three closed, 11 partially closed (22 open).
Poole - nine closed, eight partially closed (23 open).
Sandwell - 116 closures, 33 partially closed (54 per cent of total).
Walsall - 119 closures, 36 partially closed (53 per cent of total).
Solihull - 82 closures, seven partially closed (34 per cent of total).
Dudley - 112 closures, 37 partially closed (60 per cent of total).
Wolverhampton - 113 closed, 33 partially closed (54 per cent of total).
Birmingham - where there is also a strike by council workers in a separate pay dispute which is causing school closures - 103 closed, 35 partially closed (31 per cent of total).
Shropshire - 167 closed, 14 partially closed (26 per cent of total).
Staffordshire - 27 closed, 52 partially closed (20 per cent of total).
