The NUT announced the industrial action last week after a ballot of members saw 91.7 per cent of votes returned in favour of the move.
July 5 will be the first day of action, affecting schools in England. The NUT lists among its demands an increase to funding for schools and education, a guarantee for terms and conditions in all types of schools, and a resumption of negotiations on teacher contracts to address workload. Acting NUT general secretary Kevin Courtney said that significant change was needed and called on education secretary Nicky Morgan to engage with them.
He said: “In light of the huge funding cuts to schools, worsening terms and conditions, and unmanageable and exhausting workloads, teachers cannot be expected to go on without significant change. The effects on children’s education are also real and damaging.
“As a result of school funding cuts, class sizes are increasing, subject choices are being cut, and children are getting less individual attention as teachers and support staff are made redundant or not replaced when they leave. There is worse to come, with the Institute of Fiscal Studies predicting that the biggest real-terms cuts to per pupil-funding in a generation are on the way.
“There is already a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in our schools. Without significant change to the pay and working condition of teachers, this will simply deepen.
“At the absolute minimum, schools urgently need extra funding to meet the additional costs government has put on them through increased National Insurance and pension payments.”
The Department for Education (DfE) said it was “disappointed” that the NUT has chosen to strike and pointed out that only 25 per cent of its members voted in the ballot.
A statement added: “It is even more disappointing when we have offered and committed to formal talks between ministers and the unions to address their concerns about pay.”
However, Mr Courtney was angry at the DfE’s implication that the action is about levels of pay. He said: “The DfE is being entirely disingenuous when it says that our action is about levels of pay. The NUT is taking strike action in response to the funding crisis in our schools, which is impacting on teachers’ terms and conditions and children’s education.
“The NUT is also highlighting the complete break-up of our education system into individual academies, which is resulting in a breakdown of teachers’ employment rights. Hard-fought-for entitlements such as sick leave and maternity/paternity rights are under attack. Meanwhile, pay systems are now being decided at school level.”