Striking unions to be required to keep schools open

Teaching unions will have to ensure schools in England stay open on strike days, under plans announced by the government.

The Department for Education (DfE) launched a consultation on Tuesday on how best to implement minimum service level (MSL) requirements in schools.

The proposals are due to come into force by next September.

But education unions, who were involved in talks with government over MSLs, called the announcement "shameful".

One of two options being put forward is to guarantee that vulnerable children, those due to take exams, children of critical workers and all primary school pupils can go into school on strike days.

A leaked Department for Education draft document seen by the BBC suggests that amounts to 74% of pupils.

Schools in England experienced some of the worst disruption due to strikes in a generation this year, when millions of school days were cumulatively lost across 10 strike days.

Many of the school strike days coincided with industrial action by other workers, including doctors, railway staff and civil servants.

In October, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said MSLs would be introduced with the unions on a voluntary basis at first but the government could use legal powers brought in earlier this year under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which applies to a wide range of workers.

The DfE says the plans will protect children, young people and parents to ensure education can continue during any future strike action.

Now, it is seeking views on the proposals, which include priority attendance for vulnerable pupils and the use of rotas for strikes lasting five days or more, in a nine-week consultation.

"We know a lot of schools already do provide support for vulnerable children or those with special education needs or other cohorts," Ms Keegan said.

"But what we want is to see that uniform across the country and provide that certainty for parents - so if there is future strike action, they know that their child can go to school on that day."

But all four of the education unions involved in talks with government have reacted angrily to the announcement.

National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Paul Whiteman said it showed the government had entered MSL talks with unions in "incredibly bad faith".

National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede called the move "shameful".

"The attempt at dialogue was never meaningful. It was disingenuous and cynical," he said.

"The end of talks was briefed out to the press by No 10 before the talks ended," Mr Kebede added, referencing a story published in the Sun newspaper on Monday evening about the decision to start the consultation.

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton called MSLs a "profoundly illiberal policy".

"Nobody wants to go on strike. It is action that is taken as a last resort when all else has failed," he said.

NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said ministers had provided "no compelling justification" for MSLs in schools.

"Rather than continue discussions on scope for reaching a voluntary agreement with unions, the government has pulled the rug," he said.