LGA: Strike not sensible

Teachers striking because of a below-inflation pay deal are not thinking of the impact on their pupils, the Local Government Association's deputy chief executive has said.

John Ransford told Independent Radio News he believed the industrial action was "very tough on children and young people and their parents".

"We've just had an unusually long school holiday really because of the early Easter; some pupils are only just back to school; we've got public examinations starting," he said.

"This doesn't seem a very sensible thing to do."

Around 8,000 schools are believed to be affected by the strikes, leaving hundreds of thousands of pupils forced to spend the day at home.

The action is the first strike by teachers in more than 20 years.