Teaching union to ballot members over pay offer

The largest education union in England is voting on whether to accept or reject the government's pay offer of 2.8%.

If it is turned down, the union will debate at its conference in April whether to vote for industrial action, which could include strikes.

The National Education Union (NEU) called the government's pay recommendation "extremely disappointing".

The ballot will open on 1 March and run until mid-April.

In a separate dispute, tens of thousands of students in sixth form colleges across England were disrupted by strike action on Thursday.

About 2,000 NEU members are taking part in a three day walkout over pay.

The September pay rise did not include teachers at sixth form colleges, which, says the Department for Education, are responsible for setting their own pay.