Rothwell Junior School teachers set to strike for six days of action over 'management bullying' claims

Members of teacher’s union NASUWT at Rothwell Junior School are due to take the first of six planned days of strike action tomorrow (March 19).

The staff will walk out after what they say is ‘bullying and intimidation by school management’ that has left members with stress, anxiety and burnout as a result of a culture of ‘unreasonable demands and excessive workload and monitoring’.

NASUWT staff leafleted parents and carers last week informing them of the industrial action.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: “Our members describe a culture of fear at the school which is impacting on workload, as well as staff wellbeing.

“The imposition of arbitrary performance targets is placing unrealistic pressures onto teaching staff and compromising their ability to support pupils' learning.

“Bullying employer behaviour cannot be allowed to continue. It is bad for teacher morale and undermines the ability of teachers to teach.

“We urge the employer to recognise the seriousness of the situation and to take the steps needed to resolve this dispute and re-establish professional, accountable and respectful management of the school.”

Further days of strike action at the Pathfinder Schools-managed campus are planned for March 26 and 27, and three consecutive days the following month, on April 16, 17 and 18.

Alan Hackett, NASUWT national executive member for Northamptonshire, said: “The employer is failing in its duty of care to staff. It has had numerous opportunities to act to address the long-running management problems at the school but has failed to do so.

“Members now feel that they have no choice but to take strike action in a bid to bring about much needed positive change at the school.

“Our members should not need to fight for their right to be treated with dignity at work. That it has come to this is a reflection of how badly staff have been let down by the people who are employed to lead and support them.”

A spokeswoman for the Pathfinder Schools trust said: “We remain committed to productive discussion with the NASUWT, and our door remains open should they wish to engage with us positively and in good faith.”

In a letter to carers the school added: “We continue to be hopeful that a resolution can be found, we have already proposed several concessions that would enable us to ensure your children continue to receive an improved education, whilst taking due consideration of the concerns raised by staff. The reality is that Rothwell Junior School sits within the bottom 10 per cent of schools nationally for Key Stage 2 outcomes.

"Your children deserve better than this and we want to work closely with the staff, so they feel supported, as we introduce the improvements that are needed.”