Gillian Keegan asks teachers to give heads notice of plan to strike

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has written to union leaders asking teachers to notify their headteacher if they plan to join Wednesday's strike.

Ms Keegan said notice of which staff members would be walking out would help schools avoid "unnecessary disruption".

The National Education Union (NEU) has a number of national and regional strikes planned for February and March.

Joint general secretary Mary Bousted said schools should plan for action by all union members on their staff.

On Wednesday, all NEU members in England and Wales are set to strike, with the union saying it expects more than 150,000 of its members to take part and over 20,000 schools to be affected.

It follows a ballot in which action was backed by 90.4% of members in England and 92.3% of those in Wales.

Further strikes by all members in England and Wales are planned for 15 and 16 March, while strikes affecting only certain regions are planned for 14 and 28 February and 1 and 2 March.

In a letter seen by the BBC, Ms Keegan acknowledged there was no obligation on striking teachers to alert headteachers ahead of time, but said notice would allow heads to "take important operational decisions to protect children's learning".

"I understand the importance of maintaining teachers' right to strike, but I hope this important right can be protected whilst minimising the impact on children - especially in the context of the disruption they have faced due to Covid," she said.

"With that in mind, I am calling on the National Education Union to encourage their members to alert their headteacher if they intend to take strike action on Wednesday.

"Your co-operation would help ensure our dispute does not cause additional and unnecessary disruption."

When will which regions be affected by strike action?

• 1 February: All schools in England and Wales

• 14 February: All schools in Wales

• 28 February: North and north-west England, Yorkshire and Humber

• 1 March: East Midlands, West Midlands, and the NEU's eastern region

• 2 March: South-east and south-west England, and London

• 15 and 16 March: Two-day strike of all schools in England and Wales

The government has asked schools to try to remain open during the action, but the decision of whether to do so lies with headteachers.

The NEU has said that no individual school will be affected by more than four of the seven strike dates.

Responding to the letter, Ms Bousted said school leaders were already aware of how many NEU members were working at their school.

"They should plan on that basis - that the members of the union will follow the union's request to withdraw their labour on that day," she said.

"We don't want individual members to be put under pressure and be intimidated."

Ms Keegan is expected to meet with representatives of the NEU to discuss issues including teachers' pay and workload on Monday.

Leaders from the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Association of Head Teachers, and the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers will also attend the talks.