Today

Hundreds of schools face closure later this month after members of Britain's biggest teacher's union, the National Union of Teachers, voted in favour of a one-day national strike on 24 April.

Union Leaders also warned that further strike action would continue into the Summer and beyond if necessary.

Just over three quarters of those who voted in the ballot were in favour of strike action, although ministers have been quick to point out that the turnout was only 32 per cent.

The ballot was prompted by anger over a 2.45 per pay offer. Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the NUT, said:

“The Government is wrong to determine a pay increase for teachers below the rate of inflation. The rate of inflation is 4.1 per cent.

“The consequences of real-term pay cuts are familiar to us. They were a feature of the 'boom and bust' years before 1997. In that period, schools suffered from recruitment and retention problems; there were teacher shortages and morale was low. The NUT wants no return to those bad old days.”

The 2.45 per cent pay offer is part of a three-year pay deal for teachers that would give them an extra 7 per cent by 2010. By contrast, NUT members demanded an extra 10 per cent increase at the union's annual conference at Easter. Meanwhile, union leaders want ministers to agree to an initial pay increase in line with inflation as a first step.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said:

“A strike will serve only to disrupt children's learning, inconvenience parents and place a burden on fellow teachers. We will support headteachers and local authorities to keep schools open. We urge the NUT to reconsider.”