DOZENS of schools across Cumbria are closed or partially closed as the National Education Union take another set of strike action. 

Teachers are walking out in a long running dispute with the government over pay and working conditions. 

The government offered an additional one-off payment of £1,000 and increased the offer for most teachers next year to 4.3%, with starting salaries reaching £30,000.

The Department for Education described it as a "fair and reasonable offer", and said schools would receive an extra £2.3bn over the next two years.

However, in early April 2023, a pay and funding offer from Government was rejected by 98 per cent of NEU members on a 66 per cent turnout. 

A re-ballot of NEU teacher members in state schools opened on 15 May 1 and will close on 28 July to assertain whether their is mood for teachers to contiune strike action into the autumn.

Across the Northern region the NEU are marking the strikes with pickets and rallies.

For NEU teacher members in Cumbria's state schools, this week marks their seventh and eighth day of strike action since February 1 with this the first strike day for teachers in more than two months.