NUT: Strike action has been averted at a Tyneside secondary school after governors decided it will not become an academy
Friday, 1 June 2012 1:27 PM
NUT members at Boldon School, South Tyneside, had been preparing to walk out for three days in the week following half term.
They were opposed to proposals by the school to move towards academy status and made the difficult decision to vote in favour of strike action in a ballot, in an effort to prevent a conversion.
NUT representatives worked closely with colleagues from the NASUWT, which also has members at the school, to voice members’ concerns and opposition to the proposals put forward by the school’s management.
The governing body of Boldon School met yesterday evening (May 31st) and decided not to proceed to the next stage towards conversion. The NUT has now called off its planned strike action.
Jill McManus, Secretary of South Tyneside NUT, said: “The campaign was a real team effort. We had 100% support for action from NUT members and we campaigned together with the NASUWT and our local Public Services Alliance.
“A key part of the campaign was our work with governors, providing support for those who opposed academy status by giving them the facts and evidence they needed to strengthen their arguments and challenge pro-academy opinions.
“The staff ballots were also critical in demonstrating the strength of views of the staff and letting the governors know, at an early stage in the process, exactly how staff felt.”
Christine Blower, General Secretary, National Union of Teachers said: “We are delighted that the governors have listened to the concerns of staff and taken this decision not to proceed further down the road to academy status.
“This decision shows that academy conversion is not inevitable. The NUT will continue to support its members in opposing attempts to break up state education in a way which is bad for teachers, bad for pupils and bad for society.”
END PR94-2012
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