Most schools in England affected by strikes - BBC

BBC/ Hazel Shearing

By Hazel Shearing

Education correspondent

More than half of schools in England either restricted attendance or closed during teacher strikes on Wednesday, government data suggested.

Teachers in England and Wales were among thousands of workers taking action during what was said to be the biggest strike day for a decade.

University staff, train drivers, bus drivers and civil servants separately walked out.

Most were taking action over pay not keeping pace with inflation.

Department for Education estimates on school closures released on the day were based on attendance data from 77% (16,400) of state-funded primary and secondary schools in England.

The department said this data showed:

• 43.9% of the schools were fully open
• 42.8% were open but restricting attendance
• 8.9% were fully closed

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was grateful to head teachers for how they had worked to keep schools open.

"Conversations with unions are ongoing and I will be continuing discussions around pay, workload, recruitment and retention, and more."

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the government was taking negotiations "very seriously" and wanted a "well-rewarded profession".

National Education Union joint general-secretaries, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, said: "One day's disruption through strike action is dwarfed by the long-term damage caused by government policy on education funding, on workload, and on pay."

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Even in schools that were fully open children may have experienced disruption as some staff members may have been absent.

In Wales, striking teachers were joined by support staff, while members of the National Association of Head Teachers took action short of a strike.

Teachers were also striking in two parts of Scotland - Clackmannanshire and Aberdeen - as part of rolling industrial action.

Most state school teachers in England and Wales had a 5% pay rise in 2022. Unions say this amounts to a pay cut because inflation is over 10%. In Scotland, teachers rejected a 5% increase.

Primary school teacher Justine Valentine went on strike for the first time, taking part in a rally in Leamington Spa.

"I felt it was my only option," she said.

"I'm really really sorry for the children in my class, I would rather be with them."

Maria Richardson, head teacher of Our Lady Queen of Peace primary school in Liverpool, sent three classes home because there were not enough staff to teach them.

"We'll ensure that the children do catch up," she said. "Those children will be given extra tuition."

A secondary-school teacher in Cambridgeshire, who asked not to be named, said she understood why her colleagues were striking but she could not afford to lose the pay.

"Morally, it just doesn't sit right with me," she said.

"The kids have suffered so much through Covid and I just feel like striking and them missing another four days of school is not going to help anybody. They're already so far behind."

• ANALYSIS: Will the wave of strikes ever end?
• EXPLAINED: How strikes will affect you
• ANSWERED: What are teachers paid?

Wednesday was the first of seven national and regional NEU strike dates.

Schools in England will each see four days of strike action, three national days and one affecting their region.

Teachers have already been on a national strike in Scotland and action is continuing on a rolling basis. Most teachers in Northern Ireland will walk out for half a day on 21 February.

Other groups of workers to strike on Wednesday included:

• Civil servants across 124 government departments
• Rail workers at 15 different companies
• Some London bus drivers
• Lecturers, librarians and other university workers

Further strikes by ambulance workers in several English regions and by staff at the Environment Agency were also announced on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Michael Sheils McNamee, Elaine Dunkley and Kate McGough.

Have you been affected by issues covered in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC News journalist. You can also make contact in the following ways:

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• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
• Upload pictures or video
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2023-02-01 18:18:44Z
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1,000 Border Force officers to go on strike for four days during February half-term, PCS union announces - Sky News

Border Force officers will stage fresh strikes during the February half-term over an ongoing pay dispute with the government.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union confirmed on Tuesday night that 1,000 staff would be taking part in walkouts on 17, 18, 19 and 20 February across four ports - Dover, Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said the move would "impact on people returning from their holidays", but said the "blame" for the action "lies firmly at the feet of ministers who are refusing to put any money on the table".

A Home Office spokesperson said they were "extremely disappointed" with the decision and warned travellers to "be prepared for disruption".

This latest strike announcement comes ahead of mass industrial actions across several sectors on Wednesday, which will include teachers, train drivers and civil servants.

And it is the second walkout by Border Force staff after it staged strikes in airports across Christmas.

During that action, the government brought in military personnel to plug the gaps, and it is understood they will do so again, alongside civil servants and volunteers.

More on Strikes

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Mr Serwokta warned that the military would not be able to fill in for the "highly-skilled and experienced officers" in French ports, however.

The union boss criticised the government for failing to move on its pay offer, adding: "They say they will talk about money for next year, but our members - who have been offered just a 2% rise at a time when inflation is around 10% - cannot afford to wait for next year.

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"Many civil servants are already having to choose between heating and eating, having to claim the benefits they themselves have to administer and they are having to go to foodbanks.

"Ministers should be ashamed at how they treat their own workforce and until they come to the table with money for our members, we will continue to call strike action, with tomorrow's strike being a key part of what will be a continuous, sustained, targeted campaign."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are extremely disappointed with the union's decision to strike and the inconvenience this will cause to travellers and businesses.

"We continue to work closely with all affected ports to assess the impacts of this announcement. Whilst we have robust plans in place to minimise any delays, passengers should be prepared for disruption and take action to plan ahead.

"Those intending to travel or ship goods into the UK over strike days should keep up-to-date with the latest advice from operators to check how the strike action will affect them."

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Schools strike: Teachers across England and Wales walk out - BBC

Helen Butler

By Hazel Shearing

Education correspondent

Teachers in England and Wales are taking part in the first national strike since 2016.

More than 100,000 are expected to walk out, the National Education Union (NEU) has said, along with university staff, civil servants, train and bus drivers.

As many as 23,000 schools could be impacted, though the extent of disruption is expected to vary.

The education secretary said a "majority" of schools would remain partially open.

Some schools were planning to make a decision over whether to close as late as Wednesday morning after assessing how many staff join the strike.

In Wales, striking teachers will be joined by support staff, while members of the National Association of Head Teachers begin action short of a strike.

Teachers are also striking in two parts of Scotland - Clackmannanshire and Aberdeen - as part of rolling industrial action.

About 500,000 workers are due to take part in walkouts across a range of sectors, making it the biggest strike in more than a decade, according to the Trades Union Congress.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan defended the government's record on school funding and told BBC Breakfast it "makes no sense to give inflation-busting pay rises to some of the workforce" at a time when prices are rising for everyone.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, accused ministers of failing to negotiate meaningfully on pay and said teachers had been "forced to stand up".

Ms Keegan rejected that, saying she has held five meetings with union leaders for "wide-ranging discussions" in recent weeks.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Rishi Sunak of "weak leadership" yesterday and urged him to come to the negotiating table to sort out the "chaos".

• Strike action: What do firefighters, teachers and others want?
• When are teachers striking, and will schools close?
• 'Deciding to close our school has been horrible'
• Expense and workloads driving teachers out of job

Zoe Thompson, the headteacher of Oasis Academy Hadley in Enfield, north London, said senior staff were "doing our best to stay open" in order to support students from deprived households.

Around half of all pupils would be in on a modified timetable, she said, to "keep them here and learning and safe".

She said some of her teachers had been left feeling "there was no other option left" to make the government overhaul school funding and pay.

Yvonne Brown, CEO of the Leading Learners Multi Academy Trust in Bradford and Wigan, said her schools would operate largely as normal because teachers can't afford to strike.

She said it would be "business as usual" in all four schools run by the trust because "most staff, including young teachers, are not able to take a day without pay".

Ms Bousted acknowledged teachers struggling to make ends meet had been left facing a "catch 22" over whether or not to take part.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that some members were working second jobs and struggling to pay for petrol to get to work.

A "toxic combination" of below inflation pay offers and high workloads was leading to a third of new teachers quitting within five years, she claimed.

Year 5 teacher Helen Butler will be joining a picket line in Portsmouth for the first time in her 26-year career. She has voted against strike action in the past - but this time feels different.

"We've got some teachers now that are going to food banks," she said, adding her salary had fallen in real terms over a decade.

Ms Butler said she loved her school, where she is an NEU representative, but there were insufficient resources and her workload had increased.

"We're given 10 glue sticks for a class of 30, because it's expensive. I've ended up buying my own," she said.

"I do not know one teacher who doesn't work in their holidays.

"What other job expects you to work in your holidays?"

Taking exams

Most state-school teachers in England and Wales had a 5% pay rise in 2022. But inflation means this is actually a cut, unions say. And they want to make sure it is not paid for out of school budgets.

Wednesday will be the first of seven national and regional NEU strike dates.

Schools have been advised to open for vulnerable pupils, key workers' children and those taking exams.

Some will open for certain classes only.

Children may be set work to do remotely - but striking teachers are not required to do so.

Paula Arnold, who works in a law firm in Poole, said she would not find out until Wednesday morning whether her daughters' schools would open.

Paula Arnold and her daughters

"I don't know whether I'm going to be in or out [of the office] or working from home or unable to work," she said. And working from home with children was not easy - especially if they were not set work.

Ms Arnold said she wanted to stay supportive of striking teachers but needed more certainty to plan childcare.

"I end up just pulling my hair out because it's just tricky trying to juggle everything," she said.

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Schools in England will each see four days of strike action:

• three national days
• one affecting their region

Just over 53% of teachers in the NEU in England voted in its ballot - 90% of them supported a strike.

A secondary-school teacher in Cambridgeshire, who asked not to be named, said she understood why her colleagues were striking but she could not afford to lose the pay.

"Morally, it just doesn't sit right with me," she added.

"The kids have suffered so much through Covid and I just feel like striking and them missing another four days of school is not going to help anybody. They're already so far behind."

Teachers have already been on a national strike in Scotland - and action is continuing on a rolling basis. Most teachers in Northern Ireland will walk out for half a day on 21 February.

Teachers join a wave of public sector workers striking over pay and conditions.

Workers represented by seven different unions across the UK will strike on Wednesday.

They include:

• Civil servants across 124 government departments
• Rail workers at 15 different companies
• Some London bus drivers
• Lecturers, librarians and other university workers

Earlier, the Unison union announced its members in five ambulance services in England will strike on Friday of next week, as part of a dispute about pay and conditions.

The walkout will affect London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West.

Unison also says its members at the Environment Agency will join members of the Prospect union in striking for 12 hours next Wednesday. The action will include workers in flood forecasting and pollution control.

Have you been affected by issues covered in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC News journalist. You can also make contact in the following ways:

• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
• Upload pictures or video
• Please read our terms and conditions and privacy policy

If you cannot see the form, visit the mobile version of the BBC News website to submit your question or comment or email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location.

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Dog attack: Four-year-old girl dies in back garden of home in Milton Keynes - Sky News

A four-year-old girl has died after a dog attack in Milton Keynes.

Police officers were called by the ambulance service shortly after 5pm on Tuesday after a report that a dog had attacked a child in the back garden of a property in Broadlands, Netherfield.

The child died at the scene shortly after.

Officers remain at the site, where the dog has since been put down.

No one else was hurt in the incident, and the child's family are being supported by specially-trained officers.

No arrests have been made in connection with the investigation.

'Absolutely tragic incident'

More on Buckinghamshire

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Superintendent Matt Bullivant said: "This is an absolutely tragic incident, in which we believe that a child has been killed after being attacked by a dog.

"Clearly, we are in the very early stages of an investigation, and it would be wrong and unhelpful to speculate as to the exact circumstances of this incident at this point."

He added: "I understand how much of an impact this will have on the community and on the wider public, and people can expect to see a large police presence in the area this evening and beyond while our investigation continues.

"I would like to reassure people that there is no reason to believe there is any danger to the wider public at this time."

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2023-01-31 21:37:13Z
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Hillsborough disaster: Families profoundly failed, say police - BBC

By Samantha Jagger & Tom Mullen

BBC News

Police forces have apologised for "profound failings" which have "continued to blight" relatives of victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

On behalf of all 43 forces, police chiefs have promised "cultural change".

They admitted "policing got it badly wrong" in the aftermath of the fatal stadium crush and said a range of key lessons had been learned.

Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died as a result of the April 1989 disaster at Sheffield's Hillsborough ground.

The National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing published a joint response to a report published in 2017, which consulted the families.

It is the first reply from a major public body to the report, published by former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones.

In his 117-page report, he said: "The experience of the Hillsborough families demonstrates the need for a substantial change in the culture of public bodies."

'Pain and suffering'

Bishop Jones said "a change in attitude" was needed to ensure the "pain and suffering" of the families - who spent decades fighting for justice - was not repeated.

He also called for a charter for bereaved families, the right to publicly-funded legal representation and a "duty of candour" for police officers, amid a series of other recommendations.

In response, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, the College of Policing's chief executive officer, said: "For what happened, as a senior policing leader, I profoundly apologise. Policing got it badly wrong."

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing said the code of ethics used by forces would be reviewed, with a duty of candour becoming a key theme.

Hillsborough Inquests

Bishop Jones had said the response of South Yorkshire Police to criticism over Hillsborough showed "institutional defensiveness" and recommended training for senior officers to ensure an "open and transparent approach" to inquiries. 

A first inquest verdict of accidental death, which the families campaigned against for more than 20 years, was quashed in December 2012.

In 2016 a new inquest jury found the victims had been unlawfully killed due to gross negligence manslaughter by the police match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield.

And, last year, the South Yorkshire and West Midlands police forces agreed to pay damages to more than 600 people over a cover-up which followed the disaster.

At the time, South Yorkshire's Acting Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said the force acknowledged that "serious errors and mistakes were made" by its officers "both on 15 April 1989 and during the subsequent investigations".

Solicitors acting for the families said they hoped the settlement would "put an end to any fresh attempts to rewrite the record and wrongly claim that there was no cover-up".

Bishop Jones's report also said the first inquests failed to accurately establish how the supporters came about their deaths, and families were unable to successfully challenge their "flawed basis" because their legal representation was inadequate.

Ch Con Marsh, who is from Liverpool, said: "What we're talking about is cultural change and cultural change takes a long time, but my goodness we have started."

He said new police recruits would study the report into the experiences of the Hillsborough families. New guidance for family liaison officers will be issued, while guidance on disaster victim identification has also been revised.

There have previously been calls for a Hillsborough Law, which would help victims of future disasters and atrocities.

Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said she supported calls for the legislation, to "rebalance the scales of justice and ensure these principles are enshrined throughout our system".

• Hillsborough Law would be 'valuable legacy to 97'
• 'Culture change' call after Hillsborough
• Mayors urge MPs to back Hillsborough Law

However, NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt said legislation was a matter for Parliament.

He said: "What we have really focused on is doing that which is really within our power.

"The issue of candour is very clear within the charter for bereaved families and it will be incorporated explicitly in the review of the code of ethics."

Ch Con Marsh added: "We have been robust as possible and it's for Parliament to make any legislation that they feel is necessary."

Mr Hewitt said the response to the 2017 report had not been published earlier due to legal processes and added it was important to ensure a full response was made.

But he said he "absolutely accepted that every week or month that has gone by has added to the pain of the families and not being able the whole process to conclusion".

Among those who died at Hillsborough was 18-year-old James Aspinall.

His mother Margaret, who campaigned for justice for the victims, said she was disappointed the response had taken so long to come.

She said: "I remember writing to someone in government to say 'I hope this report doesn't get put on a shelf gathering dust for years like other things in the past have done'.

"We are now into 2023. How long does it take to read a report to come out with your findings of what you think should happen?"

A spokeswoman for the Hillsborough Law Now campaign said the group was "extremely disappointed" with the police response.

• Timeline of the Hillsborough stadium disaster
• Home Office apologises to Hillsborough families
• Hillsborough Law would 'level scales of justice'

While welcoming the apology, she said it made "no reference to a change in legislation which would put an immediate stop to families battling against the state".

An actual law would mean "the culture of denial that we have seen in other inquiries, such as infected blood and Grenfell, would be minimised".

Pete Weatherby KC, who represents many of the Hillsborough families, said "everyone knows" a Hillsborough Law would be a "game changer".

He added it was "tiresome to watch another report which says the right things but achieves very little".

The government is yet to respond to the report but Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the timing had been impacted by the need to avoid the risk of prejudice during any criminal proceedings.

She added: "The government remains absolutely committed to responding to the bishop's report as soon as practicable and our focus now is on engaging in a meaningful way with the bereaved families of the Hillsborough disaster prior to publishing the government's over-arching response."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

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Teachers prepare to strike in England and Wales - BBC

Helen Butler

By Hazel Shearing

Education correspondent

Teachers in England and Wales are preparing to walk out over pay, in the first national strikes since 2016.

More than 100,000 could strike on Wednesday, the National Education Union has said - along with university staff, civil servants, train and bus drivers.

The education secretary said the teachers' strike meant "huge uncertainty for parents".

Some schools may not decide until the morning whether to close, as it depends on how many staff join the strike.

About 500,000 workers are due to take part in walkouts across a range of sectors, making it the biggest strike in more than a decade, according to the Trades Union Congress.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the strike would have a "significant impact on children's education".

But Schools Minister Nick Gibb later said he expected the "majority" of schools to be open in some capacity.

Downing Street said mass action would cause "significant disruption".

In Wales, striking teachers will be joined by support staff, while members of the National Association of Head Teachers begin action short of a strike.

Teachers are also striking in two parts of Scotland - Clackmannanshire and Aberdeen - as part of rolling industrial action.

• Strike action: What do firefighters, teachers and others want?
• When are teachers striking, and will schools close?
• 'Deciding to close our school has been horrible'

Year 5 teacher Helen Butler will be joining a picket line in Portsmouth for the first time in her 26-year career. She has voted against strike action in the past - but this time feels different.

"We've got some teachers now that are going to food banks," she said, adding her salary had fallen in real terms over a decade.

Ms Butler said she loved her school, where she is an NEU representative, but there were insufficient resources and her workload had increased.

"We're given 10 glue sticks for a class of 30, because it's expensive. I've ended up buying my own," she said.

"I do not know one teacher who doesn't work in their holidays.

"What other job expects you to work in your holidays?"

Taking exams

Most state-school teachers in England and Wales had a 5% pay rise in 2022. But inflation means this is actually a cut, unions say. And they want to make sure it is not paid for out of school budgets.

Wednesday will be the first of seven national and regional NEU strike dates.

Schools have been advised to open for vulnerable pupils, key workers' children and those taking exams.

Some will open for certain classes only.

Children may be set work to do remotely - but striking teachers are not required to do so.

Paula Arnold, who works in a law firm in Poole, said she would not find out until Wednesday morning whether her daughters' schools would open.

Paula Arnold and her daughters

"I don't know whether I'm going to be in or out [of the office] or working from home or unable to work," she said. And working from home with children was not easy - especially if they were not set work.

"I'd like to say my kids are angels," she laughed. "Children are children. They need feeding. I don't want to just... put them in front of devices and crack on."

Ms Arnold said she wanted to stay supportive of striking teachers but needed more certainty to plan childcare.

"I end up just pulling my hair out because it's just tricky trying to juggle everything," she said.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Sam Done, the principal of Hillcrest Academy primary school, in Leeds, is unsure how many staff will be working and how many pupils could be accommodated.

"We will have to wait and see what happens, right up until the 11th hour almost, on the night before and the morning of industrial action," he said.

Schools in England will each see four days of strike action:

• three national days
• one affecting their region

Just over 53% of teachers in the NEU in England voted in its ballot - 90% of them supported a strike.

A secondary-school teacher in Cambridgeshire, who asked not to be named, said she understood why her colleagues were striking but she could not afford to lose the pay.

"Morally, it just doesn't sit right with me," she added.

"The kids have suffered so much through Covid and I just feel like striking and them missing another four days of school is not going to help anybody. They're already so far behind."

Teachers have already been on a national strike in Scotland - and action is continuing on a rolling basis. Most teachers in Northern Ireland will walk out for half a day on 21 February.

Teachers join a wave of public sector workers striking over pay and conditions.

Workers represented by seven different unions across the UK will strike on Wednesday.

They include:

• Civil servants across 124 government departments
• Rail workers at 15 different companies
• Some London bus drivers
• Lecturers, librarians and other university workers

Earlier, the Unison union announced its members in five ambulance services in England will strike on Friday of next week, as part of a dispute about pay and conditions.

The walkout will affect London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West.

Unison also says its members at the Environment Agency will join members of the Prospect union in striking for 12 hours next Wednesday. The action will include workers in flood forecasting and pollution control.

Have you been affected by issues covered in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC News journalist. You can also make contact in the following ways:

• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
• Upload pictures or video
• Please read our terms and conditions and privacy policy

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2023-01-31 19:16:26Z
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