With teachers planning to strike tomorrow (Tuesday), schools are being urged to stay open.

The two largest teaching unions, the NUT and the NASUWT, have confirmed that teachers in Hertfordshire will strike for one day over national disputes around pay, pensions and working conditions, unless an agreement is reached.

Chris Hayward, Herts County Council’s Cabinet member for enterprise, education and skills, said: “While we recognise there are strongly held feelings on both sides of this national dispute, strike action in a key public service like this can only be to the detriment of Hertfordshire’s children and their parents.

“We hope there is a speedy resolution to this dispute in the interests of all concerned.

“The decision to stay open or to close is for individual headteachers and governors to make.

“We have urged as many schools as possible to remain open as long as it is safe to do so, but we do not have any authority to compel them to stay open, whether they are community schools, free schools or academies.

“If school leaders do decide to close their doors, we have advised them to inform parents and carers as soon as possible in advance, so they can make alternative arrangements for their children.”

Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT, said: “At the start of the new academic year, the last thing teachers wish to be doing is preparing for further industrial action.

“With pay, pensions and working conditions being systematically attacked, and an education secretary who refuses to listen or negotiate, teachers now have no other choice.”