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Monday 27th February 2023
Dear Families,
REMINDER - Strike action by members of the National Education Union
I am writing to remind you of the forthcoming strike action by the National Education Union (NEU), one of the main teaching trade unions.
The strike days that are likely to affect schools in this area are:
- Thursday 2 March 2023
- Wednesday 15 March 2023
- Thursday 16 March 2023
You will find more information from the Department for Education at the bottom of this letter.
How will strike action affect Dunalley?
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(es) 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 safely open, or partially open, during a strike.
To determine whether the school can remain fully or partially open, a risk assessment will be conducted. This will consider the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum.
Given that NEU members are not required to tell me whether they will be taking strike action, and the availability of external cover staff is currently uncertain, I am not yet able to confirm whether our school will be fully open on Thursday this week.
Please do not assume that we will be fully open on Thursday 2nd March because we were fully open on the strike day last month.
The availability of supply cover for striking teachers is unpredictable. As soon as further information becomes available, I will update you. Like last time, this is likely to be by 7.30am on the morning of the strike day.
Whilst I will do my upmost to keep the school fully open for all children, it is possible that a partial school closure will be unavoidable. To prepare for this possibility, we have developed contingency plans. If it becomes necessary to restrict attendance at school on strike days, the government advises that, if possible, vulnerable children and young people, the children of critical workers and those taking exams or formal assessments this year should be prioritised places in school. Definitions of these groups can be found in annex A and B of this document - Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings October 2022 (publishing.service.gov.uk). If you haven’t already done so, please email [email protected] if you consider that your children would qualify for this provision if it were available.
Remote learning
Please note that teachers who are on strike will not prepare or set work for pupils on strike days. At the beginning of a strike day, we will however signpost families to online learning opportunities that link to our curriculum.
Clearly this is a difficult situation, which may cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. 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.
Yours truly,
Alison Godfrey
Headteacher
Friday 27th January 2023
Dear Families,
Strike action by members of the National Education Union
I am writing to update you about forthcoming strike action by the National Education Union (NEU), one of the main teaching trade unions.
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 February 2023
- Thursday 2 March 2023
- Wednesday 15 March 2023
- Thursday 16 March 2023
You will find more information from the Department for Education at the bottom of this letter.
How will strike action affect Dunalley?
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(es) 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, or partially open, during a strike.
To determine whether this school can remain fully or partially open, a risk assessment has been conducted. This considers the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum, to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.
Given that NEU members are not required to tell me whether they will be taking strike action, and the availability of external cover staff is currently uncertain, I am not yet able to confirm whether our school will be fully open on Wednesday 1st February. As soon as further information becomes available I will update you.
Whilst I will do my upmost to keep the school fully open for all children, it is possible that a partial school closure will be unavoidable. To prepare for this possibility, we are developing contingency plans. If it becomes necessary to restrict attendance at school on strike days, the government advises that, if possible, vulnerable children and young people, the children of critical workers and those taking exams or formal assessments this year should be prioritised places in school. Definitions of these groups can be found in annex A and B of this document - Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings October 2022 (publishing.service.gov.uk). Please email [email protected] if you consider that your children would qualify for this provision if it were available.
Remote learning
Please note that teachers who are on strike will not prepare or set work for pupils on strike days. At the beginning of a strike day, we will however signpost families to online learning opportunities that link to our curriculum.
Clearly this is a difficult situation, which may cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. 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.
Yours truly,
Alison Godfrey
Headteacher
