Teachers across Stirling are striking today as part of a national dispute over pay - after a last-ditch offer was rejected by union chiefs.
All of Stirling Council’s primary schools, secondary schools and Additional Support Needs provisions (including Castleview Nursery) are closed due to the lack of an agreement.
The closure threat is as a result of industrial action by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and the Association of Head Teachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS) as part of a national dispute over pay for teaching staff.
Stand-alone nurseries and nursery classes would remain open as normal and all schools will reopen on tomorrow (November 25).
Free school meal provision for entitled pupils will still be made in the form of payment.
Letters have been sent to parents and guardians in advance of the anticipated disruption.
The move follows the EIS rejecting an improved pay offer from COSLA which would have seen pay rises of up to 6.85% for some teachers earning less than £40,107.
However, the union described the offer as an "insult", with its salaries committee agreeing unanimously to proceed with today's strike action.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: "This offer is nothing less than an abject insult to Scotland’s hard-working teaching professionals. Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a 5% offer more than 3 months ago and now, after months of prevarication and weeks of empty promises, COSLA and the Scottish Government come back with an offer than is worth that same 5% to the vast majority of teachers.
"This is not, as the Scottish Government claims, a progressive offer – it is a divisive offer, made on a differentiated basis, which is actually worse for many teachers in promoted posts."
Making the offer, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "This is a fair offer which recognises that the cost of living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower salaries.
"This is now the fourth offer that has been made. In the same time EIS have not changed their request for a 10% pay increase – even for those on the highest incomes.
"I have been clear that we have limited room for manoeuvre. The financial situation for the Scottish Government is challenging and additional money for teacher pay means reduced public services elsewhere."
