Sixth form college strikes: Why are teachers striking? Dates and full list of impacted schools

• Members of one of the UK’s biggest education unions have voted to strike over what the union describes as a pay rise disparity.
• Staff at 32 sixth form colleges across England have been called on to take part.
• Three strike days have been declared so far, including one this month and two next month.

Thousands of teaching staff from dozens of sixth form colleges across England are expected to take part in upcoming industrial action.

In a ballot held earlier this month, a “resounding” 97% of National Education Union (NEU) members teaching at sixth form colleges voted in favour of strike action. The union says that despite all of them working in state-funded schools, some would be set to get an above-inflation pay rise this year, while others would not.

But when are these strikes going to take place, and will your child’s school be affected? Here’s what you need to know:

Why are sixth form college teachers going on strike?

Earlier this year, the newly-elected Labour Government offered teachers an above-inflation pay rise of 5.5%. It planned to foot the bill too, handing more than £1.2 billion in extra funding to schools.

But while teachers at sixth form colleges that had become academies were eligible for the pay rise, the NEU says that it was unclear whether those working at state-funded sixth forms that were not academies would be able to benefit. The union said its requests to the education secretary for clarification had gone unanswered.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said in a statement: “We have given the Government every opportunity to sensibly resolve this avoidable dispute... Over 2,000 NEU sixth form college teachers stand ready and will not hesitate to take strike action to win a fair pay award for every college.

“Our dispute has highlighted the lack of care shown to the further education sector as a whole and the urgent need to bring up college staff pay up to at least the same level as in schools,” he continued. Mr Kebede said that no teacher wanted to take strike action, and the union remained open to negotiation.

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson told the Independent: “Ensuring people have the skills they need for the future is crucial to this Government’s number one mission to grow the economy. We recognise the vital role that further education, including sixth form colleges, play in this.

“Sixth form colleges are responsible for the setting of appropriate pay for their workforce and for managing their own industrial relations,” they continued. “The October Budget provided an additional £300 million revenue funding for further education to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.”

The government’s skills minister, Baroness Jacqui Smith, last week apologised that they had not been able to fund the same pay rise for both school and further education workers this year, during a speech. But she added that she would like to see college pay rises match those for school staff, comments Mr Kebede welcomed.

“We remain hopeful that the Government will guarantee that colleges may utilise additional funding now allocated to them for staff pay.”

When will the strikes take place?

Unless anything changes, strike action is set to take place on three separate dates. These are Thursday 28 November, Tuesday 3 December, and Wednesday 4 December 2024.

Not all of a school’s teaching staff may necessarily be be taking part in strike action. For concerned parents, it is worth getting in touch with your child’s college about whether they expect to be impacted, and what their plans are for those dates.

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Which schools will be impacted?

The NEU says that it has called on staff at 32 sixth form colleges across England to take strike action. These are:

• Aquinas College (Stockport)
• Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (Eastleigh)
• Bolton Sixth Form College (Bolton, Greater Manchester)
• Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College (Brighton)
• Cardinal Newman College (Preston)
• Christ The King Sixth Form College (Lewisham, London)
• Christ The King Sixth Form College Aquinas (Brockley, London)
• Capital City College – Angel (Islington, London)
• Greenhead College (Huddersfield)
• Henley College (Henley-on-Thames)
• Hills Road Sixth Form College (Cambridge)
• Holy Cross College (Bury)
• Itchen College (Southampton)
• Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College (Birmingham)
• Leyton Sixth Form College (Waltham Forest, London)
• Loreto College (Manchester)
• Luton Sixth Form College (Luton)
• Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College (Leeds)
• Peter Symonds College (Winchester)
• Richard Collyer, The College of (Horsham)
• Scarborough Sixth Form College (Scarborough)
• Shrewsbury Colleges Group (Shrewsbury)
• Sir George Monoux College (Walthamstow, London)
• St Brendan's Sixth Form College (Bristol)
• St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College (Kensington, London)
• St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College (Clapham, London)
• St John Rigby RC Sixth Form College (Wigan, Greater Manchester)
• Varndean College (Brighton)
• Wilberforce College (Hull)
• Winstanley College (Wigan, Greater Manchester)
• WQE and Regent College Group (Leicester)
• Wyke Sixth Form College (Hull)
• Xaverian College (Manchester) 

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