Strike set to close Cotswold school

7:32am Tuesday 22nd April 2008

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ONE Cotswold school is due to completely close during the national teachers strike scheduled for Thursday and another was to partially shut.

The only Gloucestershire Cotswolds school set to be affected is The Cotswold School in Bourton, which is due to completely close for the day.

Long Compton's Acorns Primary School, the only Warwickshire Cotswolds school scheduled to be effected, is to partially close during the one-day strike.

It will be closed to reception and nursery-aged children but remain open to year one pupils.

National Union of Teachers (NUT) members are set to strike for the first time in 21 years to oppose the 2.45 per cent pay rise offered by the Government.

They NUT says the offer is below the current rate of inflation.

County councils are responsible for schools in their capacity as education authorities but individual headteachers are to assess, on the basis of how many of their teachers go on strike, whether or not their schools would close.

Gloucestershire and Warwickshire county councils confirmed which of their schools would be affected.

Mark Rickard, Gloucestershire council's senior access manager, said: "The county council's role is to manage the closure process and support schools.

"We are advising schools to keep parents advised of their particular circumstances as soon as possible, so that alternative arrangements can be made if necessary."

A Warwickshire County Council spokesman said: "We are monitoring the full impact of the proposed NUT strike and it's a responsibility of individual schools to make the necessary arrangements.

"However, the county council is working closely with our schools to minimize the potential disruption to the education of the young people in the county."

Parents are advised to check their council's website to learn if their children's schools are to close; for Gloucestershire, visit ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/closedschools and for warwickshire.gov.uk/schoolclosures