Striking teachers in England accused of undermining pupils’ pandemic recovery

Gillian Keegan says she can't think of a worse time' for action by NEU members

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has accused striking teachers of undermining children's recovery from the Covid pandemic, saying she did pretty well" at winning extra funding for schools from the Treasury.

Keegan told a conference in Bournemouth: Let me be clear, we should not be having these strikes in general, but certainly not now. Children have been through so much in the pandemic and I can't think of a worse time to be willingly keeping them out of school."