The NEU is planning to hold 2 national strike days next week (Wednesday 15^th and Thursday 16^th March). 

If this industrial action goes ahead, our school will be impacted as follows: 

Reception Class (Bumblebee Class) will be open for pupils on both days

Y4 Class (Dragonfly Class) will be closed to pupils on Wednesday 15^th and open for pupils on Thursday 16^th

Y5 Class (Fox Class) will be closed to pupils on Wednesday 15^th and open for pupils on Thursday 16^th

All the other classes (Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y6) will be closed on both days.

Wednesday 1st March is the day when the NEU is planning its next teachers' strike day in this region. It seems as though the strike will go ahead. 

Based on the information I have been given, I can confirm that Reception Class, Year 5 Class and Year 6 Class will be open as usual and pupils in these classes can attend school.

That means that Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 will be closed to pupils on Wednesday and children in these classes should not come to school.

Remote learning 

Teachers who are on strike will not prepare or set work for pupils on strike days. However, here are links to remote learning that you might find useful for your child if you would like them to complete some learning tasks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary

https://teachers.thenational.academy/key-stages

Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause disruption to many families.  A national strike by teachers is very unusual.  Taking strike action is not something that any teacher would undertake lightly.  Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the days that they are on strike. 

Dr Nick Rudman

Executive Headteacher

Strike action by members of the National Education Union  - Important update on 1^st February industrial action at Maltese Road

I am writing to you about forthcoming strike action by the National Education Union (NEU), one of the main teaching trade unions. You may have seen coverage of this in the news, and I wanted to inform you about the impact this will have at our school.

There are three national and one regional day strikes planned.  The strike days that are likely to affect schools in this area are:

Wednesday 1^st February 2023

Wednesday 1^st March 2023

Wednesday 15^th March 2023

Thursday 16^th March 2023

As Executive Headteacher, I have reluctantly concluded that school will have to close to all pupils on Wednesday 1^st February.

I do not yet know what will happen on any future planned strike days.

The NEU has posted a document for parents, carers and grandparents that explains their reasons for taking strike action.  It can be found at https://neu.org.uk/media/24511/view if you wish to read it.

When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour. This means that those teachers involved in the action will not teach their class or undertake any other duties on a strike day.

It is therefore incumbent upon me to consider the impact that industrial action will have on the operation of the school.

One of the key issues is to assess whether there are sufficient staff available for the school to remain open for any pupils during a strike. 

To determine whether this school can remain open, I have had to consider the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.  

Remote learning 

Teachers who are on strike will not prepare or set work for pupils on strike days. However, here are links to remote learning that you might find useful for your child if you would like them to complete some learning tasks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary

https://teachers.thenational.academy/key-stages

Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause disruption to many families.  A national strike by teachers is very unusual.  Taking strike action is not something that any teacher would undertake lightly.  Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the days that they are on strike.