THOUSANDS of schools are facing disruption as teachers prepare to strike over pay this week.
Teachers across the country will walk out throughout February and March, unless there is a last-minute deal to solve bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
This comes in addition to teaching strikes that are already taking place in Scotland, disrupting schools through January and early February.
The chaos means parents may need to take time off work, or arrange childcare, if their children's school closes.
But when is the first day of the strike and should you bother sending your child to school?
Here are all the dates you need to know.
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When are teachers striking?
On February 1 school staff in England and Wales will stage their first walkout.
More than 23,000 schools will be affected on Wednesday in the biggest day of industrial action for a decade – with many shutting altogether.
90 per cent of the NEU's 300,000 members voted for Wednesday's walkout, turnout was 53 per cent.
The action will be the first of seven days of strike chaos planned by furious NEU teachers in England and Wales throughout February and March.
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Then, strikes will go ahead on a regional basis on February 14 and 28, and March 1, 2.
Finally, nationwide walkouts in England and Wales will take place on March 15 and 16 if a pay deal has not been met.
The NEU represents teaching staff from across the education sector, including maintained schools, academies, free schools, independent schools, sixth-form colleges and further education colleges.
Should I send my child to school?
Schools that are set to be fully or partially closed will communicate this with parents and guardians.
Many families will already have been informed whether their children will have to remain at home on Wednesday.
If you have received no information from the school telling you that it is closed or that it cannot provide a place for your child, you still have a legal duty to send them to school unless they are ill.
However, if your child's school is closed, you are allowed to take reasonable time off to care for a child, according to Citizen's Advice.
Known as dependent leave, workers can take time off if "care arrangements for a dependent suddenly break down" or "an unexpected incident involving your child at their school" occurs.
However this will be unpaid leave unless your contract says otherwise.
Will my child's school be closed?
Some schools will have to close completely on strike days, while others will see learning disrupted.
The decision to close schools will be up to the head teacher, although in Wales this will also be done in consultation with local authorities.
England
Schools should try to stay open, the government says.
However, many are likely to be at least partially closed.
Individual teachers don't have to say if they will strike and there are no rules for when parents must be told about closures.
If a school does open, there are no minimum staffing rules and heads can use agency staff and volunteers to cover classes. They do not have to stick to the curriculum.
Schools may choose to offer remote education to pupils at home, but this is not compulsory.
Wales
As in England, head teachers decide whether to close.
The Welsh government says schools and local authorities should ideally provide a week's notice of any closure.
It says it's up to individual schools to decide how best to minimise the impact of the strikes on their students.
Scotland
Almost all primary and secondary schools have closed on strike days. Local councils make this decision.
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Walkout Wednesday will also see 500,000 other workers stay at home in scenes likened to a general strike.
Train drivers, civil servants, university lecturers, bus drivers and even security guards will all hang up their uniforms in rows over pay.
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