At least 20 of Hammersmith and Fulham's schools will close, and another 15 will be partially closed on Thursday October 17, as teachers belonging to the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) strike for one day over pay, conditions and pensions.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council say that according to the latest information, ten schools will remain fully open, while another eight have not yet informed the council of their decision. You can see the full list of closures at a dedicated website page which the council says will be updated as new information is received.

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Georgie Cooney has called on teachers and staff in the borough's schools to do everything they can to keep their buildings open.

She says: " We will do everything possible to minimise disruption to residents.

" However, we hope that some schools will stay open with help from school support staff, governors and parent volunteers who have up-to-date DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks.

" The welfare of our children is the most important thing and schools have carried out health and safety risk assessments based on the number of staff likely to be at work before deciding whether to close or remain open."

The NUT has produced a leaflet giving its members' reasons for striking. The union's General Secretary Christine Blower says: " The NUT sincerely regrets the disruption that will be caused by strike action on Thursday for children and parents.

"Teachers, however, feel they have no other choice to demonstrate their concerns about the Government’s proposals because Michael Gove:

• has done nothing to address the crisis of low morale in the teaching profession which threatens the continued provision of high quality education in your child’s school;
• is making changes to teachers’ pay, pensions and conditions that will make it harder for your child’s school to recruit and retain good teachers;
• has not engaged in negotiations with us to seek to resolve our dispute."

October 15, 2013