Publish date: 30 January 2023

Throughout February and March 2023, teachers from the National Education Union across England and Wales will strike. We appreciate that this may be of particular concern for those of you who have / look after school age children. A number of dates have been announced and schools are now beginning to write to parents/carers to tell them what the industrial action will mean for their schools and what impact it will have on pupils.

The dates that will affect our local geography are as follows:

  • Wednesday 1 February, all England schools
  • Tuesday 28 February, all North West schools
  • Wednesday 15 March, all England schools
  • Thursday 16 March, all England schools

We are aware some schools have started notifying parents, carers, and guardians about local closures. In some areas schools will not close for vulnerable children, exam classes, and children of key workers, please do check your school plans.

We recognise that this industrial action may cause difficulties for some people and therefore early conversations with your managers are essential to enable us to plan how we support you in the best way possible.

The maintenance of our services to our patients is a priority to all of us so its important that we have our normal operational staffing on the days detailed above.

If your school is due to be closed and you do not have alternative caring or support arrangements in place, you can discuss with your manager about the use of annual leave, unpaid leave, or seek alternative childcare arrangements for the days of planned action.

Please do speak to your line manager if you need some support to manage childcare on the strike days. The sooner we can put the necessary plans in place, the easier it will be to support you during this time.