Some schools in Wales are expected to close during teacher strikes but the Welsh Government still hopes the action can be avoided, says the education minister. National Education Union (NEU) members are expected to strike on February 1 and 14, and on March 15 and 16.
Jeremy Miles, minister for education and the Welsh language, told BBC Politics Wales that the "exact number" of schools set to shut is not yet known. "Over the past week the unions have been telling schools the number of members they have in a particular school and now heads are looking at provision," he said.
"Most authorities generally want to give around a week's notice to parents of what that will mean in schools. They will need to make judgements at a school level with local authorities around whether schools are staying open or closing."
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Asked if he expects some schools to be closed, Mr Miles replied: "Yes, I think that's going to happen." Decisions on online teaching during the action would be made at a school level. "Obviously there are constraints on what heads can ask other teachers to do to cover for striking teachers, so there are limitations that they will face," the minister said.
Teachers were offered a 5% pay rise last year but the NEU is calling for a 12% increase. Mr Miles pointed out that due to inflation the Welsh Government's budget is worth about £3bn less than when it was set. "We absolutely recognise it's a legitimate expectation that your pay isn't eroded by inflation but there are very real constraints on the budget that the Welsh Government has, as a consequence of the settlement from Westminster," he added.
Earlier this week NEU Wales said unions had been offered a "one-off non-consolidated payment" which did not go "anywhere near" meeting demands. Asked if the one-off payment offer was for £1,000, Mr Miles declined to reveal the figure from the "confidential" discussions but said: "It's the first of what I hope will be a number of meetings to try to resolve this... None of us want to see schools shut, so that's why we will do everything we can to seek a resolution."
He confirmed that hubs set up for children of key workers while schools were closed during the Covid pandemic would not return. The rules which allowed those to run were "specific to coronavirus", he said.
David Evans, Wales Secretary of the NEU Cymru, said earlier this week: "We have continually raised our concerns with the education minister about teacher and support staff pay, and Welsh Government funding of schools, but so far they have not taken steps to resolve the issue. Teachers have lost around 20% in real-terms since 2010, and support staff 27% over the same period. The 5% pay rise for teachers this year is some 7% behind inflation. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, that is an unsustainable situation.
"Around a quarter of teachers are leaving within their first five years of qualifying. This is a waste of important talent and taxpayers' money, yet the Welsh Government has not acted to ensure the conditions they are allowing in schools support retention.
"The Welsh Government must know there is going to have to be action on teacher pay. They must realise that school support staff need a pay rise. If they do not, then the consequences are clear for parents and children. Anyone who values education should support us in this dispute because that is what we are standing up for."
Similar strike action is scheduled to take place in England. You can read more of the latest education news here.
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