TEACHERS are going on strike over alleged unreasonable management practices at a Barnsley primary school where parents have already called for the academy trust which runs the school to be removed.
National Education Union members are taking industrial action at St Helen’s Primary at Monk Bretton, with the first of three days of strike action called for Wednesday.
Nicola Fitzpatrick, Barnsley division secretary for the NEU, said: “The NEU is currently engaged in negotiations with AET (the academy trust which runs the school) around issues that have been raised by our members regarding oppressive management practices at the school.
“Our members also have concerns around changes in governance that have led to staff feeling that any concerns they raise will not be dealt with in a fair and transparent way. Such a lack of transparency and confidence in new governance models has meant our members feel there is no effective internal mechanism to resolve the real concerns they have at work.
“Our members, both teachers and teaching assistants at the school, have indicated that they have no confidence in the current management. They are extremely concerned about the effect of constantly changing leadership.
“Our members are demanding a full and independent review of their concerns, a full review of the governance and leadership and suspension of workers.
“Reluctantly members of the NEU have now voted overwhelmingly to take strike action, the first day on Wednesday March 21, then April 10 and 11.
“We are of course hopeful that strike action can be avoided through meaningful negotiation.”
Last month frustrated parents circulated a petition declaring a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the school’s executive head teacher Jo-Anne Charalambous and academy trust.
It was followed by protests by parents who wanted AET removed and the school handed back to the council, or another academy sponsor. Concerns included three consecutive Ofsted inspections rating the school ‘requires improvement’.
A spokesman for AET said: “We are saddened to hear that the NEU’s members have voted to strike over three days; just one day lost to teaching and learning is one day too many.
“We have recently written to parents to set out some of the facts about performance at St Helen’s over the past few years.
“In 2013, St Helen’s first Ofsted inspection immediately after joining AET confirmed our assessment that the school was ‘requires improvement’. A follow up monitoring visit from Ofsted found that the academy was taking effective action to address areas of concern.
“In 2014, St Helen’s had its next formal Ofsted inspection. Overall, this found the school to be ‘requires improvement’, but recognised that leadership, pupil behaviour, and Early Years were all ‘good’.
“In 2017, an internal review conducted by the new team at AET, concluded that school leaders and governors had not taken effective action to address the issues raised in the Ofsted inspection, and plans were put in place to ensure that this was remedied. This plan included changing the leadership and, as part of wider governance changes across AET, professionalised the governance arrangements. These new arrangements have been praised by Ofsted.”
The spokesman added the most recent ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted report in September noted Mrs Charalambous had identified the shortcomings and was taking decisive action to improve teaching and leadership, and that AET’s record of improving schools is clear.
“On joining AET, only 25 per cent of primary schools were rated Ofsted ‘good’ or better. Today, 85 per cent of our primary academies are ‘good’ or better.
“We continue to seek to engage with the individuals who are leading this strike action and continue to engage with the NEU and are meeting with them to try and find a resolution so that children do not lose valuable time in school.”
