Edinburgh schools will close next Wednesday as teachers stage latest pay walk-out

Special arrangements could be made for pupils taking assessments

Schools across Edinburgh will close next Wednesday (25 January) when teachers in the Capital stage their next walk-out over pay, but special arrangements may be made in some schools for pupils facing assessments.

The one-day strike is part of the 16 days of rolling action being taken by teachers in support of their claim for a 10 per cent pay rise. Two council areas are targeted each day. The latest offer would give most teachers around five per cent and Education Secretary Shirley Anne Somerville has said the 10 per cent claim is unaffordable.

A letter has been sent to parents and carers from the city’s education department, explaining the plans for coping with the industrial action and affirming the council’s commitment to to “closing all gaps in learning”. It says: “Primary schools will close for pupils on Wednesday 25 January 2023. Secondary schools will also close for pupils, but some local arrangements may be in place, for example for those taking assessments. Secondary headteachers will be in touch directly to confirm local arrangements. Special schools will fully close except Gorgie Mills and Prospect Bank which will be partially open. Again, those headteachers will confirm local arrangements.”

Primary and secondary schools will close, but special arrangements could be made for pupils taking assessments.

The letter, signed by acting head of schools and lifelong learning Lorna French, includes a link to resources for “contingency learning” from home on the council’s website. It says Free School Meal payments for eligible families will be sent out by the council’s transactions team, as happened previously, and out-of-school care will be confirmed locally.

The letter also warns that that further action planned by the EIS, Scotland’s biggest teachers’ union, included two days of national strike action in all schools and sectors on 28 February and 1 March, followed by a rolling programme of strikes for 20 days between 13 March and 21 April. And it concludes: “It is important to confirm that we are committed to closing all gaps in learning no matter their origin and will discuss what additional actions we can take at our next round of Locality Parent Council and Headteacher meetings.”