Knight: Parents struggling to understand strike

Schools minister Jim Knight says parents are on the side of the government over the teachers' strike.

The National Union of Teachers' one-day industrial action is shutting an estimated 8,000 schools in England and Wales today and Mr Knight says he is frustrated by the strike.

"I think parents are bewildered because they hear that the average teacher earns about £34,000," he said.

He insisted the pay review process had been taken up by the government "in good faith" and that, with teachers' pay rising by 19 per cent in real terms since 1997, the 2.45 per cent pay rise from September 2008 was a "reasonable deal".

Mr Knight finished: "We believe that all teachers should be teaching and talking – and not walking."