More than half of schools across England were fully or partly closed as teachers walked out on strike today, according to data from the Department for Education.
The NEU teaching union held the first of seven planned strike days today in a dispute over pay.
The DfE data suggests that 54 per cent of schools were restricting attendance, with 9.3 per cent of those fully closed.
Less than half (45.9 per cent) of schools across England were reported to be fully open.
The figures are based on returns from around 16,400 (77 per cent of) state schools in England that submitted attendance data to the DfE by 2pm today.
Teacher strike: disruption greater in secondary schools
Nearly a fifth (17.4 per cent) of secondary schools were estimated to be fully open, and a further 73.6 per cent were restricting attendance, compared with 52.1 per cent of primary schools estimated to be fully open and 38.7 per cent restricting attendance.
For special schools, 61.2 per cent of settings were affected, with 57.7 per cent open but restricting attendance and 13.5 per cent closed.
Just 28.8 per cent were estimated to be fully open.
Guidance published by the DfE after the NEU released its stike ballot results last month told schools to prioritise vulnerable children and those with parents who are critical workers if they needed to prioritise places as a consequence of strike action.
‘One school closure is too many’
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said today she was “very grateful” to headteachers ”for all their work to keep our schools open and to minimise the impact of today’s strike action”.
She added: “One school closure is too many, and it remains deeply disappointing that the NEU proceeded with this disruptive action - but many teachers, headteachers and support staff have shown that children’s education and wellbeing must always come first.”
Ms Keegan said that conversations with unions are “ongoing” and she would be “continuing discussions around pay, workload, recruitment and retention, and more”.
Speaking to striking teachers gathered outside Downing Street today, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, appealed to the government to “end the meetings of empty offers designed to provide only a veneer of negotiation, and instead enter meaningful talks”.
He advised the crowd to “stand firm and stand strong”, saying: “This is about saving education for children.”
