Teaching staff across the county have gone on strike as a row over pay continues.

Members of the National Education Union are leading another walk-out today after rejecting the government’s latest offer, which proposed a £1,000 one-off payment for this year, and a 4.3% pay rise next year.

Despite this, given the close proximity of today’s industrial action to crucial exams for Year 11 and 13 students, the NEU said its representatives were working with head teachers to try and minimise disruption for those edging closer to major assessments including GCSEs and A-levels.

The union said it will “support arrangements” that provide the minimum level of teaching staff needed to allow teenagers in those year groups to come into class for either supervised revision activities or exam practice.

But it warned there should be “no expectation” classes will be taught by their usual teachers.

The union said it can ask its members to help on strike days or by setting work, but they cannot be forced to do so, and the right to strike remains.

A message on its website last week added: “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.”

In England, the government has said schools should open if possible but the decision to close does lie with the head teacher.

Teaching staff do not have to say give forward warning if they are striking and parents may only find out this morning if their child’s school is closed.

However some schools have already put provisions in place.

Simon Langton Girls School, in Canterbury, sent an email to parents on Friday, April 21, ahead of the planned strike days advising it will be limiting attendance as it could not “operate the school as normal”.

Year 8 and 10 students have been asked to stay at home while pupils in Year 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13 have been told to attend school as usual.

Teachers also walked out last Thursday in a fresh wave of industrial action over pay and working conditions.

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 more schools and pupils are affected this spring than during initial walk outs earlier this year.

Speaking previously, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the union, said: “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.”

Previous action took place on February 1 in the first teaching strike in decades, with an overwhelming number of teachers and educational professionals flocking to the streets of Canterbury to protest.

During this, Andrea Kite, NEU rep and teacher at St Anselm's Catholic School in Canterbury, was with colleagues on the picket line outside the school in Old Dover Road and explained why they had decided to walk out.

"If this pay rise is not fully-funded by the government, it comes from our school budget - which means that we'll have less money available to do the things that we really want to do with our students, so our students will suffer," she said.

"When staff leave mid-year they will not be replaced, and that is the issue. It is for our students, to give them a better education.”

Further action was also held in March and April.