The first day of strike action is planned this Thursday
Teachers at a Stockport high school are planning to strike this week over violence and abuse from pupils.
Six days of action have been planned by the teachers’ union NASUWT, which says a change to working practices at Werneth School has ‘led to teachers being unacceptably exposed to poor student behaviour including verbal and physical assaults’.
The strike was due to take place in December, but was called off at the 11th hour after the employer, the Education Learning Trust (ELT) – brought in to support the school – ‘engaged in positive talks’ with union leaders.
But union leaders say, despite come changes being made since then, ‘members do not feel substantive improvements have been made and have been left with no choice but to reinstate strike action’.
The Trust says it’s ‘disappointed’ with the move and ‘continues to listen to NASUWT demands’ but is urging the union to ‘return to discussions in a clear, productive and responsible manner’ to ensure they can move forward together.
Jac Casson, NASUWT national executive member for Stockport, said: “The management of pupil behaviour systems is still not having the necessary effect on improving behaviour and the management of it.
“This has resulted in unacceptable low level disruption and defiance from students. But more concerning is the frequency of verbal assaults on our members and the threat of physical assault.”
She added: “Whilst the management has attempted to make improvements, members feel that the employer has yet to fully understand the extent of the problems and recognise the issues they are experiencing. As a result the employer is failing in its responsibilities towards both staff and pupils and our members now feel the only avenue left open to them to try to secure their welfare is to take strike action.”
The school will be closed to all students except for those in Year 7 and 11 on Thursday, February 27. Further strike days are planned for March 4 to 5 and March 11 to 13.
NASUWT General Secretary, Dr Patrick Roach, said: “Significant changes to working practices introduced without proper consultation with staff are still having a negative impact on pupil behaviour and on our members’ workload.
“We were hopeful that action promised by the employer in December would address the problems, but the employer has failed to deliver on its commitments.
“Members cannot continue to go into work in an environment where they are not being kept safe by their employer and where they do not feel valued and respected.”
Last January we reported how the Romiley school had been given the lowest ‘inadequate’ Ofsted grade. Inspectors raised concerns over pupil behaviour saying some ‘use rude and offensive language to others’ and that ‘poor behaviour is not dealt with well enough’.
The report was published in wake of the sudden departure of headteacher Andrew Conroy, who wrote to parents saying he was ‘leaving today to take up a new role in Manchester’ and that, after the Christmas holidays, Pam Foy would be acting headteacher. Since then David Goddard has been appointed permanent headteacher of the school, which was placed in special measures in 2020 and became an academy school in January 2021 when it joined the Education Learning Trust.
Ofsted inspectors, who visited the site in October 2023, said ‘the school, together with the local governing body and the trust, has not demonstrated the capacity to improve pupils’ behaviour and attendance in a sustainable way’. They added ‘many pupils, parents, carers and staff are concerned about pupils’ behaviour’ and despite some changes to behaviour management policies, ‘some pupils continue to have their learning disrupted by the poor behaviour of others’.
Attendance was highlighted as another problem at the 1,080-pupil school, with high rates of absence and persistent absence, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
But in a more recent monitoring visit from Ofsted, inspectors noted a number of improvements.
The report from November last year states: “With the help from the trust, the school has implemented a phased approach to school improvement. The primary focus has been to improve behaviour and attendance.
“The previously high levels of truancy and misbehaviour have been tackled through various changes to the behaviour management systems. For instance, the school has restructured lessons to help engage pupils, it has renewed roles of leaders and it has increased its vigilance on pupils who are out of class. This new approach is supporting pupils to settle into lessons better. It has also reduced the number of pupils missing lessons.”
It said that ‘most pupils live up to the raised expectations of their behaviour’, with classrooms ‘calmer than they have been in the past’, which means pupils’ learning is not frequently disrupted.
But while most pupils ‘behave sensibly during social times and while moving around the school’ it said some pupils ‘have concerns over how behaviour is managed’.
“Furthermore, at times, the emotional and behavioural needs of pupils are not understood and met as well as they could be,” said the report. “As a result, some pupils continue to display negative attitudes towards learning and school.”
Responding to the strike action, the Trust said: “Education Learning Trust is deeply disappointed by the NASUWT decision to proceed with strike action. The Trust has listened to the concerns raised and been committed to addressing all of the issues. The school continues to listen to NASUWT demands but they balance this with the needs of the children and the wider school community.
“The Trust strongly believes that Werneth provides a fair, supportive and professional working environment for all staff. Whilst we acknowledge the right to industrial action, we recognise the responsibility to our children and parents. Efforts to engage with the NASUWT have been significant and constructive solutions have been agreed and implemented by the school with a positive impact.”
Leaders say they are ‘determined to continue with the improvements made’ and ‘delighted’ that Ofsted noted such positive steps being made.
The Trust added: “School leaders are working hard to put plans into place to minimise disruption as our priority remains the education and well-being of our children. The school is making every possible effort to ensure that children receive their entitlement to education but NASUWT must return to discussions in a clear, productive and responsible manner to ensure we can move forward together.
“ELT thanks the dedicated staff who continue to put children first and we appreciate the patience and support from our parents at this time.”
