Teachers from across the borough will be joining others in central London for a rally as part of industrial action today.

Primary and secondary schools in Harrow are closed today due to industrial action by the two largest teacher unions.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) in London are striking over pay, pensions, job cuts and workload.

Lynne Snowdon, secretary of Harrow NUT, said: “We are marching today against the changes to pay, pensions and work load.

“Teachers are very angry with the policies being brought in which are too fast and without any consultation.

“We want a meaningful dialogue with Michael Gove, but he and the Government have just not listened to teachers.

“These changes will damage the profession and will damage children’s education. It is already difficult hiring new teachers and these policy changes will make it harder.

Simon Sackwild, president of Harrow NUT said: “The government are devaluing the role of teachers. They have hit the morale of teachers hard and they feel undervalued.”

Thousands of teachers from across the capital and the south east will be meeting in central London for a mass rally against the government policy.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it was disappointing that the unions are striking over the Government's measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more.

He added all strikes will do is disrupt parents' lives, hold back children's education and damage the reputation of the profession.

Teachers in the north east, Cumbria, the south east and south west of England are all taking part in the industrial action today closing schools across the country.

According to Harrow Borough Council, 14 of the boroughs schools are closed, with 17 partially open and 20 fully open.