Strike Action:
Wednesday 1st February,
Thursday 2nd March,
Wednesday 15th March
and Thursday 16th March
Dear parents/carers,
You may be aware from media coverage that the NEU teaching union have declared strike action on the dates above.
As it stands, school will be open, even if we have teachers who will be supporting the strike – as is their absolute right. No teacher takes that decision lightly. ‘A fully funded pay rise’ sounds jargonistic, but any pay rise from the government is expected to be found from existing budgets. No extra money is given to me to pay for pay-rise decisions and this is one facet of the disagreement!
Whether our staff choose to exercise their right to strike is a highly personal matter which is not taken lightly. Staff do not have to inform school of their intention to strike until the actual day. This means that schools have to risk assess the potential disruption and make the necessary arrangements. Your child may or may not have their usual teacher and our usual high-quality learning and teaching may well be affected for the day, but we will be open for your child on Wednesday 1st February.
If, as per any risk assessment, we find that our children are at risk due to a lack of teachers and teaching assistants, then we will treat it like an emergency closure and may well have to contact families to notify of closure of particular classes. This decision will be taken on the day and at the early possible time and communicated through to you via our usual channels of Class Dojo and text service etc.
Mr G