Bath residents have their say on school strikes

Half of Bath's 48 schools have been affected today by a national walk-out of teachers. The strike by the National Union of Teachers has forced thousands of schools across the country to either partially close or to shut completely for the day. Before the school day had even started, Bath Labour Party expressed their support for NUT's industrial action on Twitter:

Solidarity with all Bath teachers who have been compelled by the govt's actions to strike today. #M26

— BathLabour (@BathLabourParty) March 26, 2014

Green Party candidate Dominic Tristram also voiced his support for the walk-out in a comment on the Bath Chronicle's website. Posting as 'Dominic_T', Mr Tristram argued that the government 'doesn't value teachers'. However, not all Bath parents agreed. Samantha Davey from Midsomer Norton complained how  "Schools make such a fuss about children missing school and then they go and re-jig everything with something like this". Mum of three Selena Tuck said "If I take my children out of school I get fined. I was told by my childrens' school that the strikes could be organised last minute. It's not fair". Michelle Dimery from Box also accused the strikers of having double standards, venting her frustration on twitter:

#schoolstrike takes the mickey they can not teach our children when they want but cant take kids on Holiday....Piss take!!!!!

— Michelle Dimery (@michie19) March 26, 2014

But the disruption caused by the strike hasn't stopped some parents from supporting the union's actions. Working mother Susie Bishop said "Teachers certainly deserve a lot more. They get a pretty raw deal at the end of the day". Ian Cross, whose daughter Marian was unable to go into school added "I support them and I support their industrial action, after all, what else can they do?" Gary Owen on the other hand was confused by the action. "My kids are at home but I'm still not sure why. I know it's something to do with pensions, but that's all". Teachers walked out in protest at changes proposed by Education Secretary Michael Gove. Mr Gove wants to introduce performance-related-pay (PRP) while over 90 per cent of NUT members argue that this is unfair and won't work. Since 2010, there has also been an increase in workload for teachers according to the Government "Teachers' workload Diary" survey from 2013. What's more, teachers are now concerned about the welfare of their students, arguing that current changes mean they have less time to interact with their students. Morwenna Jones