Parents may not find out if their child’s school will be closed until the last minute as teachers are expected to make a late decision on strike action.

Thousands of teachers in Sussex are set to take part in the mass walkout next Thursday over working conditions.

The walkout follows regional strikes elsewhere in the country at the beginning of the month.

With nearly 10,000 members of the National Union of Teachers and more signed up to NASUWT, the walkout looks set to have a big impact on the county’s schools.

Both unions have revealed the support for industrial action is “very strong” and the strike comes “as a result of the coalition Government’s failure to enter into meaningful talks to resolve the dispute over pay, pensions, job cuts and workload”, according to the NUT.

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Ron Gordon, assistant secretary for Brighton and Hove NUT, said: “It’s difficult to gauge the exact numbers because a lot of teachers will make a late decision, but we have more than 2,000 members in Brighton and Hove and the support is very strong.”

Patcham High School is one of the schools that has taken the early decision to close on the basis that there will not be enough teachers to ensure the safety of students.

Many other schools have warned parents of the likelihood of closure,but will make the decision nearer the day.

Phil Clarke, secretary for Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden NUT, said: “None of us want to strike, but it’s got to have an impact in order to make a difference. What it needs to lead to is proper negotiations between government and the unions.

“They have ripped up our pensions without negotiation, ripped up our pay without negotiation and now they’re targeting our working conditions.

“The workloads teachers have are already driving teachers away and there is simply no way the profession can exist unless things change.”

All councils have warned parents to contact individual schools about closures.

West Sussex County Council warned of disruption to a large number of schools with six confirmed affected. East Sussex County Council had not received any notifications of school closures last night.

Meanwhile two secondary schools, six specialist schools and 20 primary schools have confirmed they will close in Brighton and Hove. They are listed on our website.

Some teachers will picket at their schools, but rallies have been planned for Brighton and Eastbourne. The Brighton march will begin at the Pavilion Gardens at 10.30am while the Eastbourne march will begin outside the Town Hall at 11am.

Keep up to date with the latest news on the strike as it happens on our website.

Visit our dedicated section with news and views on the walkout.

We have also launched a hashtag for Twitter, #sussexschoolstrike to help people find out what is happening at their school.