INDUSTRIAL ACTION – THURSDAY 27TH APRIL 2023
There is another strike day on Thursday of next week (Thursday 27th April 2023).
The school is open only for Years 11 and 13 who will be offered supervised revision rooms.
The great majority of our teachers are members of the NEU. Most of those teachers will not be delivering lessons.
Non-striking teachers will be delivering online lessons.
I am a member of ASCL, a union that has never previously even considered industrial action. I am including a statement by our ASCL General Secretary that seems to sum up the current position.
We are all sorry that we are not able to offer our students the lessons they need and enjoy. I hope talks take place soon.
“ASCL has never before formally balloted at a national level and this is clearly a very significant step. The fact that we have reached this point reflects the desperate situation regarding inadequate funding, long-term erosion of pay and conditions, teacher shortages, and the intransigence of a government which we can only conclude does not value the education workforce or recognise the severe pressures facing the sector.
We have sought to settle this matter through negotiation but the government’s offer failed to sufficiently address pay and conditions, and, critically, did not provide enough funding for even the meagre proposal it put forward. Following the rejection of the offer by all education unions involved – ASCL, NAHT, NEU and NASUWT – the government has made no effort to reopen negotiations and has said only that the issue of pay will now revert to the School Teachers’ Review Body.
The conclusion of the Executive Committee is that we now have no choice but to ballot for industrial action, and we will coordinate accordingly with the other trade unions involved in the dispute.”
Dennis O’Sullivan (Headteacher)