It is interesting to see a member of the NUT executive so keen on strike action (“Unions dust off their placards and prepare for national strike”, 4 January). Maybe Lewisham is a hotbed of revolutionary ferment but the last time the NUT called me out on strike for a mass protest against the government I found out that most members across the country did not support the move. Neither did members of the NASUWT. Unilateral, strident calls to storm the barricades, from the comfort of a committee room, should not be confused with a real understanding of how prepared classroom teachers are to be sacrificial pawns. Unions must work together; shouting platitudes does not help.

Simon Horne, Deputy headteacher, Alexandra Park School, London.