Teachers in Bolton and beyond could be prepared to take further strike action.

Staff at schools across the borough took to picket lines earlier this year as part of a national ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

Now, the National Education Union has said members could vote on further action if a soon to be released School Teachers' Review Body Report does not meet their demands.

Bolton NEU official Julia Simpkins said: “They haven’t let us see what is in it and the NEU have said that we want assurances by June 17 about what the government is going to offer to our members.

“Teachers are very worried about having to take more strike action and we know that parents are very worried about their children’s education.”

The government had previously offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the 2022/23 school year and an average 4.5 per cent pay rise for staff next year following talks with the education unions.

The Bolton News: Julia SimpkinsJulia Simpkins (Image: Newsquest)

But union officials have warned that unless their demands for funding education more broadly are met, schools could be put under yet more pressure.

Ms Simpkins said: “I’d like to make it clear that the reason its important that we carry on with this is to make sure that teachers’ pay is fully funded.

“Currently the offer is that 0.5 per cent would be funded but the rest would have to come out of school budgets.

“Schools are already struggling and the only way it could come out of school budgets would be by losing support staff.

“This would mean that the children most in need would be the most affected.”

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She added: “Even if they offered us an amazing pay rise if it had to come out of school budgets we couldn’t accept that.”

Ballots for further strike action will be open until July 20 this year, meaning that if teachers vote to strike they will be likely to walk out towards the end of the school year.

Ms Simpkins said: “What we’ve said is that unless we get these assurances we will take further action in July and we really don’t want to be doing that.”