Teachers' strikes: Thousands of children now set to stay home as another Calderdale high school announces it will shut for walkouts next week

Brighouse High School will be shut on Wednesday (February 1) as industrial action by the National Education Union (NEU) takes place across the country.

The school is the fourth in the borough that the Courier has been able to confirm a closure.

In a letter to parents, Headteacher Richard Horsfield said: “The strike has been called because of a national dispute between the unions and the Government over the issue of below inflation pay rises over many years and specifically the fact that the pay rise this year has to be funded from existing budgets; the Government has provided no funding to cover increased costs to our school which has an impact on all aspects of the school budget.

"We have a large number of teaching staff who are members of the NEU, and who intend to take part in strike action next Wednesday, which means that we are not in a position to safely open the school and maintain our high level of supervision and safety.

"I am therefore sorry to inform you that Brighouse High School will be closed to students on February 1. We are asking you not to send your child into school on this day.

"We have not taken this decision lightly. We remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our pupils and feel that we would be unable to provide this with the staff it appears we will have available.

"There is also a risk that teaching and support staff at our school might be impacted if their own children's school is closed. It is possible that some staff may need to take last minute time off to care for their own children, as a result of actions outside of our control.”

Three other Calderdale schools have said they will have two shut – Todmorden High, Calder High and Calder Primary – and several other schools have warned parents to start looking for alternative arrangements in case they too have to close on Wednesday.