Another Oxford school has confirmed it expects most of its teachers to be on strike on Wednesday.

The National Education Union, the largest teachers union, has said all 347 schools in Oxfordshire are likely to be affected when teachers walk out on strike in a dispute over pay.

Cheney School in Headington will be open to exam year groups (Years 11 and 13), to vulnerable students and to some students in Years 9 and 10 who are taking part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge.

Headteacher Rob Pavey said: "We expect the strike to be well observed by staff - around two thirds of our teachers are members of the NEU - and because we will be on strike, there will be no remote education, other than the online resources that our students already have access to."

READ ALSO: Strike action 'will likely affect' all 347 schools in Oxfordshire

He added that he was sympathetic to the strikes.

"We very much hope that the strike will achieve its aims, as nobody wants any more disruption to children's education," he said.

"None of my colleagues at Cheney want to be on strike, but we recognise that we are going to have a very serious problem in a few years' time with teacher recruitment and retention if something isn't done.

"We are lucky at Cheney, because Oxford is a great place to live and work, but we know how hard some other schools in other parts of the country are finding it to get properly qualified staff, and this will affect us soon as well."

The National Education Union (NEU) voted to go on strike earlier this month, with the first planned day of action on Wednesday (February 1).

Oxford Mail:

The union has also served notice of strike action on March 2, 15 and 16.

While the union could not confirm the total number of those striking it expects all the schools in the county to be affected.

The Department of Education said any closures would be decided by heads at a local level.

READ ALSO: Guidance for parents as teachers set to strike across England and Wales

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Strike action is highly damaging to children’s education, particularly following the disruption that children have experienced over the past two years.  

“As part of our ongoing support to school leaders to do everything they can to keep as many children in school as possible we have requested information from schools to help inform this work.”

The department also said this year around 40 per cent of classroom teachers will receive pay rises through progression or promotion of up to 15.9 per cent, and those at the top are earning at least £43,685, which they claim is around a third of all classroom teachers.

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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