Teacher strikes: picket lines at 14 York schools and 7 close

It comes as thousands of pupils at schools across York are being asked to stay away from class with seven city schools - Carr Infant; Clifton Green; Danesgate; Dringhouses Huntington Primary; Stockton on the Forest and Yearsley Grove - closing altogether for the day.

READ MORE: Strikes: Here's the list of York schools closed or partially closed today

Teachers are striking at schools across York today and have joined protesters in Exhibition Square (Image: Catherine Jane)

Union leaders say the strike is partly about a decade long fall in real-term wages and discussions between unions and the Education Minister Jeremy Miles have so far failed to resolve the dispute.

Teachers meeting at Spark:York before the rally (Image: UGC)

The National Education Union (NEU) has also announced national and regional industrial action in England following a ballot of its teacher members across three further days in York, on Tuesday, February 28, Wednesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 16.

Michael Kearney, district Secretary, of City of York NEU, said the strike is only partly about teacher pay as school budgets are being squeezed like never before with many being hit by rising energy costs.

Exhibition Square this afternoon (Image: Catherine Jane)

READ MORE: This York school is facing a 200 per cent hike in its gas and electricity bills

Mr Kearney said: "Schools both nationally and locally are under incredible budgetary pressures which are not being covered by central government. Both inflation and energy costs are wreaking havoc upon our schools and are contributing to a widescale lowering of frontline pay and loss of essential jobs.

"We are seeing redundancies in schools and SEN (special Educational Needs) provision is collapsing.

"In the short term, the NEU would like to see an immediate funding boost to schools to stop these harmful cuts, but in the longer-term, we would like to see education moving in the opposite direction to the privatising academisation agenda.

"Just in York, millions of pounds are wasted on academising schools and funding duplicate jobs within the different academies that neither existed before nor benefit children."

Dozens of people were at the rally (Image: Catherine Jane)

Mr Kearney said there has been widespread support from parents and local businesses on the picket line in York.

"The city picket lines have been well attended by members of the public with different businesses turning out with coffees and chocolates," said Mr Kearney.

"Parents have been incredibly positive about it because they can see themselves the destruction that the funding crisis is having on our schools and the disruption that it is causing every single day in our schools."

His remarks came as teachers joined trade unionists at a rally and march through York this lunchtime which started at noon in Exhibition Square, followed by a march through the city centre to St Helen's Square.