SCHOOLS could be forced to close in the coming months if teachers go on strike, it has been reported.
Union members are voting on whether to plough on with mass walkouts in England and Wales in early 2023.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is said to be deciding its next steps after a "consultative ballot" last month.
And voting for members of the teachers' union NASUWT, the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) and the National Education Union (NEU) closes on January 13.
If the strikes go ahead, schools could be made to send all but the most vulnerable pupils home.
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It would more or less shut mainstream education down, akin to during the pandemic lockdowns.
Contingency plans are already in place to avoid kids going without food or being subjected to neglect, abuse and criminal exploitation if classrooms close, The Telegraph reports.
But a source in a school leadership union told the newspaper they would be "very surprised" to see schools shut completely, though admitted it was a possibility.
"I think [school leaders] would find it a very difficult situation. [But] I couldn't see that happening frankly," they added.
The NEU has been pestering its 300,000 members with cold calls and texts pleading with them to back industrial action.
It needs a 50 per cent turnout rate, with 40 per cent of eligible staff backing strikes to call a walkout.
Last month, teachers announced they would stand together to take action in a dispute over pay.
It has been confirmed that NASUWT members in Scottish primary schools will strike on January 10, while teachers working in secondary schools will walk out on January 11.
The strike will coincide with action by Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) members, who will walk out on January 10 and 11, joined by Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) members on the second day.
The NASUWT is calling for a fully funded 12 per cent pay award for 2022/23 and said that the current pay offer tabled by ministers and Cosla amounts to a further real-terms pay cut.
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Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: "We have been left with no choice.
"At a time when teachers are facing the biggest squeeze on their finances in a generation, offering what amounts to a further real-terms pay cut is simply not good enough.
"Our members are not prepared to stand by while their pay dwindles and their living costs rise.
"The Government and employers will need to bring forward a substantially improved pay offer if they want to see an end to this dispute."
'CRITICAL JOB'
Teachers have already rejected a deal which would see most staff in classrooms receive a 5 per cent pay rise, although the lowest earning teachers would get a 6.8 per cent increase.
Mike Corbett, NASUWT national official Scotland, said: "Teaching is a critical job and one that is uniquely and increasingly challenging.
"Teachers just want pay levels that reflect the years of training they have undertaken, the high level of workload involved and the skill involved in meeting the needs of all pupils.
"They want salaries that enable experienced teachers to remain in the profession long-term and which will incentivise new entrants to join teaching.
"They want pay levels that demonstrate they are respected and valued as the key workers they are."
The EIS strike action on January 10 will involve members in primary schools, special schools and early years sites.
The following day EIS, joined by the SSTA, will stage another strike in secondary schools and secondary special schools.
Katie Hagmann, Cosla's resources spokesperson, said: "We are disappointed that strikes are going ahead."
She said that teachers in Scotland are already paid well above their counterparts in England and Wales.
Ministers cannot force schools in England to take specific measures to deal with strikes as they are run by academy trusts and local authorities.
Instead, the Government has to rely on issuing advice to schools and negotiating with unions.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "After two years of disrupted education for young people, strike action is simply not a responsible solution."