Thousands of schools are expected to face disruption this Thursday as teachers stage a fresh wave of strikes amid conflict over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Pupils in the south-west, south-east and north-east of England, plus in Cumbria and London, will be affected as members of two of England's biggest teaching unions take part in the second day of walkouts this term.

The industrial action has been organised by the National Union of Teachers and NASUWT.

The government condemned the move, saying it was disappointed by the decision to strike.

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said that the overwhelming majority of teachers in affected areas would be on strike.

She said: "No teacher has any wish to inconvenience parents or disrupt pupils' education, but this action is not the failure or due to the unreasonableness of teachers. It is the failure and unreasonableness of the secretary of state, who, day in day out, is disrupting the education of children and young people through his attacks on the teaching profession."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "It is disappointing that the NUT and NASUWT are striking over the government's measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more.

"In a recent poll, 61% of respondents supported linking teachers' pay to performance, and 70% either opposed the strikes or believed that teachers should not be allowed to strike at all.

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

The unions say the dispute focuses on three key issues of pay, pensions and conditions.

They are opposed to government plans to allow schools to set teachers' salaries linked to classroom performance, and argue pensions changes will leave their members working longer, paying in more and receiving less when they retire.

They also accuse the government of worsening their working conditions, including introducing reforms that will allow schools to have longer school days and longer terms.

The first regional walkout took place in the north-west on 27 June, and further strikes took place in the east of England, the east Midlands, west Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humberside on 1 October.

Plans for a national one-day walkout before Christmas have also been announced by the two unions.

Research published this month revealed that the UK public thought teachers should be paid about 15% more than their current salaries; 74% surveyed were in favour of performance-related pay for teachers.

The findings, part of the Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Status Index, also revealed that the UK was split over the influence unions should have over teacher pay and conditions. More than 40% said teachers had too little influence, and just under 30% said they had too much.