The North Down MLA said: “For too long teachers have been undervalued, bringing us to the situation where they are planning the first strikes in over five years.

“We all know the huge impact and influence teachers can have on children, so it is only right that this is recognised through fair pay. Alliance supported the unions recent campaign for fair pay in education because we need to ensure teachers are properly rewarded for carrying out a vital job.

“Just last week, the Board of the Education Authority refused to agree cuts of around £110M to education budgets because they knew that funding for schoolchildren here was already lower than anywhere else in the UK and could not be cut anymore.

"We need to urgently see a negotiated solution which reflects the important work teachers do and ensure some are not forced out of the classroom to find other jobs. 

"With a strike by teachers now looming, the crisis in education just gets worse by the day. It’s time for the DUP to accept our children deserve better, end their deadlock and get back to Stormont to get an Education Minister into office to deal with it."