Unions to meet Education Secretary after teachers vote to strike over pay

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Union leaders are due to meet the Education Secretary for talks in a bid to avert seven days of strike action over teachers’ pay. There is a lot of empathy and understanding amongst parents because I think they understand that schools are really struggling Rhiannon Evans, Mumsnet But a spokeswoman from the parenting website said there appeared to be anecdotal evidence of “empathy and understanding” for striking teachers amid a “crisis” in recruitment and retention. Rhiannon Evans, head of communications and public affairs at Mumsnet, told the PA news agency: “I think the thing that’s really interesting is that although parents are concerned about how it will affect their kids’ education, if you have a look at the discussions on site, there is a very strong feeling amongst parents that there’s obviously a crisis in recruitment and retention with teachers leaving the profession, and that’s already having an effect on kids’ education.” A thread on concerns about the teacher strikes had more than 46,000 views – making it the third most-viewed thread on the site – on Monday as the ballot results were announced. She added: “I think, perhaps more than you might have expected, there is a lot of empathy and understanding amongst parents because I think they understand that schools are really struggling with a lack of funding, and also with being able to attract and retain staff, and so they can understand why it’s important that teachers are appropriately rewarded and that it looks like an attractive profession, because at the minute they feel like their kids are already suffering from problems in education.