School Leaders To Vote Over Strike Action In England

A school leaders’ union in England will ballot its members over strike action for the first time.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the ballot will be over the school funding crisis, pay and conditions and staff shortages.

Members will be asked to vote during the summer term and any action taken would be in the autumn term.

ASCL’s general secretary, Geoff Barton said the action was taken as a last resort and with a heavy heart.

He said the move reflected the desperate situation regarding inadequate funding, long-term pay erosion, teacher shortages and the intransigence of a government which we can only conclude does not value the education workforce or recognize the severe pressures facing the sector.

ASCL, which represents mostly head teachers and leaders, has more than 23,000 members.

The union, along with three other teaching unions involved in the dispute, has rejected an improved government pay offer.

A total of 56% of ASCL members voted on the offer, with 87% of those rejecting it.

The Department for Education previously said it was disappointed by strike action and had made teachers a fair and reasonable offer.

It included a £1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff next year. The starting salary for teachers in England is also due to rise to £30,000 a year by September 2023.

The government said it believes schools can afford to fund most of the pay rise through money already promised in the Autumn Statement, but that it would have provided some additional money to fund the remainder of it and for the £1,000 one-off payment.