TEACHERS and school staff in York are voting on whether to go on strike in disputes over pay.

Across England and Wales, state schools may have to close on dates in February and March as members of the UK's biggest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), are casting their votes on industrial action this week.

The ballot will close on Friday, January 13, and the result will be announced on Monday, January 16.

The union is asking for a pay rise of 12 per cent instead of the five per cent offered by the government, as it says teachers' pay has fallen by 24 per cent in real terms since 2010, while support staff have lost 27 per cent.

City of York NEU, which represents the largest number of teachers and support staff in York, has said that it is "highly likely" that both groups will vote to strike.

Michael Kearney, the district secretary of City of York National Education Union, said: "Educators are going to strike to protect the education of pupils as well as to begin restoring the longest erosion of educator pay in decades.

"The government have not funded the pay award, which alongside the lack of funding for the energy crisis, has meant schools have had to begin slashing staff numbers and narrow their offer to our pupils, which in turn has a detrimental impact on children."

The dates of the strikes in England have not yet been announced, and head teachers will make a decision as to whether the school will have to close.

Mr Kearney said: "Disruption for a number of days pales in comparison to the damage of a pupil going through school with larger class sizes, non-specialist or unqualified teachers, no support staff in class, overwhelmed or non-existent special education needs support and the curriculum narrowed.

"We are dealing with an unprecedented number of restructures and redundancies within schools in York and nationally because of the funding crisis enveloping our schools.

"These government decisions are damaging our pupils, not the dedicated staff (who work the longest unpaid overtime of any profession in this country) who are now being forced into this decision to protect their pupils, their communities and their families."