Dear Parents/Carers

Industrial action by the NEU

We have been officially informed by the National Education Union (NEU) that they will be taking industrial action in the form of a strike on the following date:

● Wednesday 1 February 2023 With further strikes planned for:

●  Tuesday 28 February

●  Wednesday 15 March

●  Thursday 16 March.

As I am sure you are aware, this action is not against the school but is part of national industrial action organised by the NEU regarding pay. Ballots by two other teaching unions (NASUWT, NAHT) did not meet the 50% response threshold.

We wanted to give you advanced warning of the strike on Wednesday 1 February, it is unclear at this point the disruption this is likely to cause, if any.

Please be informed that planning for strike action is complicated by the fact that:

●  there is no requirement for a union to inform us which or how many members of staff will take strike action and

●  union members are under no obligation to inform employers of their union membership, or to inform employers in

advance of their intention to strike.

This means that it may not be until the morning of Wednesday 1 February that we will know exactly how many teachers we have on site.

Obviously, we would not close the school ‘in sympathy’ with the industrial action – indeed, it would be illegal to do so. Our main concern, however, is the health and safety of our students and we will, therefore, be conducting a risk assessment in the coming days to establish the extent to which we can operate without compromising the safety of our students. We will also be consulting the DfE guidance. It is likely that there will be some change to the routine of the normal school day.

We will update parents/carers as soon as possible to the extent that we will be affected by the planned strike.

It is our hope that the government and the unions resolve this issue as soon as possible. Yours sincerely

Caroline Ainley Headteacher