Railroad strikes will see the return of remote learning, as the Secretary of Education warned against “default” schools in online classes.
School leaders have said students should be prepared to move on to virtual classes if a “critical mass” of teachers cannot work during industrial action.
Some principals have already started writing to parents telling them to keep their children at home during the week where they will be learning at a distance, as there will not be enough staff to get to the schools.
But Nadhim Zahawi has urged schools to offer “face-to-face learning” whenever possible, rather than “reconnecting by default.”
Zahawi told The Telegraph: “We know that the classroom is the best place for children and young people; it is one of the most important lessons we have learned from the pandemic.
“The children have been incredibly resilient in recent years and are recovering with the help of their teachers and our tutoring program.
“It would be a shame if unions prevented young people from returning to the track, both in terms of attendance and exams, just to suit their political goals.”
The biggest dispute since 1989
Members of the Railway, Maritime and Transport Union will go on strike on June 21, 23 and 25 in what has been dubbed “the biggest network conflict since 1989.” The first day of the nationwide strike will coincide with a strike on the London Underground, which will make it particularly difficult to travel around the capital.
Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Multi-Academy Foundation, which runs more than 50 schools across the country, said the strikes would inevitably have an impact on children’s education.
“There will surely be interruptions on any day that teachers and the rest of the staff are unable to enter the school,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. You get to a critical point where you can’t teach a lesson.
He said all of his trusted multi-academy students had iPads, which means “an option open to us” is that lessons are taught remotely during strike days.
Mr Chalke added: “The point is that teaching is about relationships; it is face-to-face teaching. But remote learning can happen if teachers can’t get in. If you can’t run a group of the year safely, you won’t open and if you can’t run a school safely, you won’t open. “