Ninety per cent of schools in parts of London were forced to send children home today as teachers in the two biggest unions went on strike.
The industrial action forced thousands of working parents to take time off work or arrange emergency childcare.
In the worst-hit areas virtually every school was affected, including Hounslow where only eight out of 70 schools opened fully and Redbridge where only seven out of 75 were entirely open.
Members of the National Union of Teachers and the NASUWT, which represent nine in 10 teachers, walked out. They are objecting to the introduction of performance-related pay and changes to pensions that would force them to work for longer and retire with less money. The Department for Education said the action would “disrupt parents’ lives” and force them to stay at home or pay for childcare.
But Chris Keates of the NASUWT told the Evening Standard working parents would understand the reason teachers were striking. She said: “We deeply regret the fact that any parents are being inconvenienced but the responsibility lies with the Secretary of State.”
Tristram Hunt, shadow education secretary, said he does not support the striking teachers but added: “Strikes are a sign of [Education Secretary Michael] Gove’s failure to have a constructive relationship with the profession.”
In Kensington and Chelsea 11 schools opened, 11 closed and 12 were partly open. Parents taking their children to one of the borough’s partially open schools — Avondale Park Primary — spoke of the confusion they faced.
Fadula Achemlal, 29, dropped her seven-year-old son Riyan at school but had to look after her 10-year-old nephew Abs whose class was closed. She said: “Abs’s dad couldn’t take a day off work so he stayed the night with me. It probably bothered Riyan as he didn’t want to go to school if Abs wasn’t going.”
Chelsea Taggart, 24, took her two children Jayden and Reece to school as normal. She said: “There are parents with one child in and one child out and they’ve kept them both off today because it’s too inconvenient to take one in.”
Noujoud Aldhaur, 39, said her 10-year-old son was not allowed into school. She added: “I have two other children who are in school today which is really inconvenient and strange. To be honest it’s really difficult. I go to college and I’ve had to take a day off work which I’m not happy about.”
Teachers marched through central London at lunchtime.
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A spokeswoman for the DfE said: “In a recent poll, 61 per cent of respondents supported linking teachers’ pay to performance and 70 per cent either opposed the strikes or believed teachers should not be allowed to strike at all.”
