HEADTEACHERS of Basingstoke secondary schools have written to parents warning them of the possible impact of next week’s strike.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has organised the industrial action for March 26 over an on-going dispute with the Government about issues regarding excessive workloads, performance related pay and unfair pension changes.

Betty Elkins, headteacher at Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College, told parents in a letter sent out this week that it is “highly likely” that some teachers from the school, in Wessex Close, will be on strike.

However, she added: “Only one of the teachers’ unions is taking action and therefore it is highly unlikely that we will need to entirely close the school. However, until we get closer to the day and we get some indication from staff of their intentions we will be unable to make a final decision. It is possible that we may have to ask for one or two year groups to stay at home.”

Parents will be informed on Monday of the school’s plans.

Denis McCabe, headteacher at Aldworth School, wrote to parents this week to say he had asked NUT members at his school, in Western Way, to inform him of their intentions.

He added: “There is no requirement for them to do so, but as you will recall on the last occasion, we were able to get a good indication prior to the strike day.”

Mr McCabe said he has three options once he knows teachers’ intentions – to remain open as normal if only a very small number of staff strike; to partially close; or fully close if the number of teachers striking will make running the school impossible because of health and safety issues.

He added: “As the NUT is one of the largest teaching unions it is impossible to say at this stage which option I will need to implement. As a parent of two school-aged children myself, I appreciate the inconvenience any school closure has on families and will inform you at the earliest opportunity, to enable you as much time as possible to make child care arrangements, if this is the case.”

So far, 12 Hampshire schools have informed Hampshire County Council that they will either close or partially close on the day of the strike, but none of these are from the Basingstoke and Deane area.

Staff who do strike will not be paid for that day in accordance with nationally set legislation.

For a full list of school closures visit hants.gov.uk/schoolclosures or check The Gazette website for updates on Basingstoke and Deane schools.