Schools are set to close as teachers take industrial action over pay, pensions and staff workload.

Members of the National Union of Teachers in Haringey will be taking part in the national strike today.

The union expects schools in the borough to be closed on the day as teachers from across the capital meet for a rally in central London.

The NUT has raised a number of concerns about government changes, which it claims are having a damaging effect on education.

These include teachers working until they are 68 or beyond, increasing pension contributions by 50 per cent and the introduction of performance-related pay.

A spokesman for Haringey Borough Council said: “Schools should have contacted parents and carers with details of closures or partial closures but please contact your child’s school directly to check.”

London NUT regional secretary Bob Stapley said: “The Government’s own survey of working hours demonstrates the excessive demands on teachers at the current time.

“The shame of it is that so much of that time is wasted on unnecessary and bureaucratic tasks that make no contribution to the quality of teaching and learning in schools”

Mr Stapley added that it is time for the Secretary of State seriously to address the issue of teacher workload if school are to retain the excellent teachers in London schools.

He said: “We have offered the Secretary of State every opportunity to meet with us to discuss the very genuine concerns of teachers throughout the country but he has failed to engage in any meaningful attempt to address those concerns.

“Teachers do not take strike action lightly but they believe that nothing else will bring about the meaningful negotiations we are seeking.”