As you may be aware, the National Education Union (NEU), National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) recently held ballots of their members on industrial action.  

 

Following the outcome of their ballot, the NEU confirmed on Tuesday 17 January 2023, that they had exceeded the threshold and advised that their members in our area will be taking strike action on the following dates. Please note that these are subject to change at any point as directed by the union. 

 

• Wednesday 1 February (whole country strike) 

• Thursday 2 March (London, South East, South West) 

• Wednesday 15 March (whole country strike) 

• Thursday 16 March (whole country strike) 

 

The NAHT and NASUWT have both announced that they did not meet threshold which means that they may re-ballot, but members of these unions will not be participating in these strikes.  

 

The NEU is in a formal trade dispute with the Secretary of State for Education. It regards school funding which the union believes to be insufficient for employers to be able to pay a fully funded increase in teacher’s pay at a rate greater than inflation. The dispute, and proposed strike action, is not as a result of local issues within our schools.   

 

We are currently assessing the potential impact this strike action will have on our four schools. As the Trust Lead (CEO), it is my primary responsibility to work with our headteachers to ensure pupils in each of our schools are safe and receive the highest standard of education and care. As such, please be reassured that we will have robust plans in place to ensure your child can continue with his/her learning should the strike action go ahead as proposed. I advise you that it is our intention to keep our schools open provided we have sufficient staff in our schools to ensure safe and secure environments for all of our pupils. 

 

Unfortunately, owing to the complexities of planning for strike action, we are not yet able to confirm the position in each of our schools. There may also be some variation in union membership across The Corinium Education Trust. If, following our risk assessments, headteachers are unable to make appropriate adjustments to keep each school open, we may have to make alternative arrangements such as partial or full closures, in the event of which, headteachers will provide opportunities for remote learning.   

 

We are giving you as much notice as possible that your child’s learning may be disrupted during the days of strike action. As a contingency, we would encourage you to consider alternative childcare arrangements should we be unable to keep your child’s school open.   

 

We appreciate that this situation may be frustrating and apologise for any potential disruption caused. However, we recognise and respect the right of our staff to take part in industrial action and ask that all members of our community continue to treat each other with respect at this complex time. 

 

Thank you for your understanding. 

 

Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO)