THOUSANDS of children missed lessons last week when the teachers’ strike disrupted 26 schools across the Stroud area.

Lecturers at Stroud College and Jobcentre Plus staff also staged action in protest over proposed changes to pensions on Thursday, June 30.

Across the whole county, 147 schools were closed or partially shut due to the strikes by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), which make up about half of Gloucestershire’s teachers, and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

They claim the pension reforms will mean having to work for longer, paying more in contributions and ultimately getting less in retirement.

However, the government insists any changes will be fair and affordable to the nation and attacked unions for calling strikes while discussions are on-going.

Among the Five Valleys’ schools affected were Parliament Primary, Thomas Keble, Brimscombe Primary and Archway School, which was open only to sixth formers.

At Stroud College, around 20 members of the University and College Union (UCU) staged a walkout with some holding banners and forming a picket line outside the main entrance in Stratford Road.

Robin Lewis, chairman of Stroud College’s branch of UCU and a lecturer in business care and lifestyle said: "It was a symbolic thing we were doing to try to raise awareness of the situation with our pensions.

"We had a lot of sympathy from colleagues because people here are genuinely concerned about their pensions, even non-union members.

"What it does is raise the profile of the issue. The government says we are still in talks but all that is happening is their representatives are turning up and saying, this is what we are doing.

"There is no meaningful negotiation or willingness to negotiate."

He added that in his opinion, the government’s reforms ‘fly in the face’ of evidence collected in a public sector pensions report, compiled by former cabinet minister Lord Hutton, which denies payments are too generous to afford.

John Pemberthy, NUT secretary for Gloucestershire, said he was pleased with how the strikes panned out in the county.

"Our aim was not to disrupt people’s lives but to send a message to the government and we believe we did that.

"They are now clear about our argument that the teachers’ pensions scheme is fair and affordable.

"It is a shame that the government forced us into a position where we thought we had to strike."

Across England and Wales, some 12,000 schools, 350 colleges and 75 universities were affected, although unions say the total is even higher.

Teachers and lecturers made up the largest group of all public sector workers on strike, which also included police support workers, although Gloucestershire Constabulary was not affected.