Exam students going to school amid strikes by teaching staff may still not get taught by their ‘normal’ teachers, a union has warned.

Hundreds of thousands of children in England are missing two days of school as the National Education Union leads fresh strikes on Thursday (April 27) and again on Tuesday, May 2 after the bank holiday.

But given the close proximity of further industrial action to crucial exams for Year 11 and Year 13 students, the NEU says that its representatives are working with headtachers to try and minimise disruption for those edging closer to major assessments including GCSEs and A levels.

The NEU says it will ‘support arrangements’ that provide the minimum level of teaching staff needed to allow teenagers in Years 11 and 13 to come into the clasroom for either supervised revision activities or exam practice.

And while this may lead to some members coming into work, there should be ‘no expectation’ classes will be taught by their usual teachers, warns the NEU.

The union says while it can ask its members to help - either on strike days or by setting work - they cannot be forced, and the right to strike remains.

A message on its website adds: “If, by agreement, schools are partially opening for Year 11/13 provision then it may be acceptable and appropriate to ask teachers with normal responsibilities for Year 11/13 provision on those strike days to provide revision activities that could be delivered to those classes in their absence.

“If this is part of the negotiated agreement, then our members cannot be compelled to do this, but the union will authorise it. Request to set cover work for other year groups will not be agreed to.”

Teachers are beginning another wave of industrial action after rejecting the latest government pay offer, which proposed a £1,000 one-off payment for this year, and a 4.3 per cent pay rise next year.

While disagreements in Wales and Scotland are being resolved, the NEU said the new deal for teachers in England would do nothing to address the problems of staff recruitment and retention, and so balloted for another round of strikes which received an overwhelming response.

Already the largest education union, more than 40,000 teaching staff are said to have signed-up to the NEU since the first wave of strikes were announced, which could also mean that more schools and pupils are affected this spring than during initial walk outs earlier this year.

Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the union, said: “The offer shows an astounding lack of judgement and understanding of the desperate situation in the education system.

“No teacher wants to be on strike. Nor can they accept this offer that does nothing to address the decades of below-inflation pay increases making them the worst paid teachers in the UK. The offer will do nothing to stem the teacher recruitment and retention crisis which is so damaging to our children and young people’s education.

“To parents we say that we have no wish to disrupt education, indeed our action is aimed at getting the Government to invest in the education of this generation of children and the people who teach them.”

Could headteachers go on strike?

The Association of School and College Leaders, for the first time in its history, will hold a formal ballot for national strike action in England over what it describes as a ‘school finding crisis, the erosion of teacher and leader pay and conditions and staff shortages undermining the education system’.

The ASL, which has never before formally balloted members over nationwide strike action, will hold the vote in the summer term which if successful is expected to lead to walkouts in the autumn term of the new school year.