Many North East schools remained closed or partially closed today as hundreds of teaching staff took part in the biggest strike in a decade.
It marked the first of seven days of industrial action by members of the National Education Union, who joined transport and civil service union members in walking out over pay and working conditions. Members are calling for an above-inflation pay rise funded by the Government rather than existing school budgets.
Rochelle Charlton-Lainè, a teacher at Dene Academy, in Peterlee, said: "We're not talking about shaving funding off for all the kids, we're talking about fully-funded money from the Government. When we think about the pandemic they spent £8 billion on unusable PPE and yet they can't fund nurses, they can't fund teachers. It needs to change."
