Hundreds of teachers at one of England’s biggest academy trusts will continue strike action for another 10 days in July over the MAT’s plans to extend the working day by 30 minutes.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) at 14 Outwood Grange academies will be staging walkouts across 10 days in July, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday). The NEU says around 500 staff members are on the ballot.
It follows six days of strike action by both the NEU and union NASUWT in June, over the teacher workload dispute.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede says OGAT’s plan “shows a serious lack of judgement and understanding” of the pressures teachers face.
But OGAT on Monday hailed “significant and positive progress” in its discussions with NASUWT, and said the union had suspended its strike action. The union said it was unable to confirm this.
A spokesperson for the trust expressed “deep disappointment” that the NEU “had not felt able to accept the fair, reasonable, and proportionate proposals” it had offered.
Talks are in progress, and discussions involving the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) are scheduled for July 10.
The extended NEU strikes will be held Tuesday to Thursday this week (July 1 to 3), Tuesday and Thursday next week (July 8 to 10), then Monday to Thursday the week after that (July 14 to 17).
An OGAT spokesperson: “We believe engaging a mediating third party through Acas is the most constructive path forward to objectively consider both perspectives and support a resolution.”
The spokesperson added they were “very disappointed” the NEU was continuing strike action while negotiations are ongoing.
“We hoped the NEU would want to signal their positive intent by pausing action as a result.
“We will do all we can to minimise the impact during any industrial action. Whilst the NEU continues to protect the interests of their members by reimbursing them for any lost pay, it is important that we protect our children’s entitlement to the minimum school week. When we work in areas of high disadvantage, it is unfair to disadvantage them further.”
Strike action ‘not taken lightly’
But Kebede said OGAT teachers “have not taken industrial action lightly”.
He said they have “continued to support children with additional classes for exam revision”. But he said “any move that leads to an increase in teacher workload” is “clearly unacceptable”.
“Most teachers leave the profession before their fourth year of teaching. Excessive workload and pay are the main causes, leading to stress and burnout,” he said.
“In this context, OGAT’s proposal to extend the school day, and therefore increasing teacher and support staff workload, shows a serious lack of judgement and understanding of the day-to-day pressures which teachers are facing.”
DfE guidance on school hours change
The DfE introduced new non-statutory guidelines in July 2023, which said it expected all schools to offer a 32.5-hour week.
It initially said all schools should comply with this by September 2023, but later pushed that deadline back by a year “in recognition of the pressures facing schools”.
Currently, Outwood schools open at 8.25am and lessons end at 2.30pm. The trust wants to extend this to around 3pm.
The trust previously said the extra time will allow students to study topics “in more depth” – meaning they will be “better prepared for GCSEs”.
But unions have urged the multi-academy trust to extend its 30-minute lunch breaks, instead of teaching time.
NASUWT previously said Outwood academies give pupils 15-minute morning breaks and up to 30 minutes for lunch. NASUWT members reported that “currently a significant number of pupils are unable to eat or use the toilet as there is inadequate time available”.
OGAT claim that the increase in teachers’ hours does not result in a breach of the 1265 hours’ limit, but NASUWT said it has concerns about the way the calculations have been carried out.
The full list of academies affected by the strikes:
- Outwood Academy City, Sheffield
- Outwood Academy Danum, Doncaster
- Outwood Academy Easingwold, North Yorks
- Outwood Academy Foxhills, North Lincolnshire
- Outwood Academy Freeston, Wakefield
- Outwood Academy Grange, Wakefield
- Outwood Academy Hemsworth, Wakefield
- Outwood Academy Shafton, Barnsley
- Outwood Academy Hindley, Wigan
- Outwood Academy, Kirkby, Notts
- Outwood Academy, Newbold, Derbyshire
- Outwood Academy, Portland, Notts
- Outwood Academy, Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland
- Outwood Academy Valley, Notts
The strikers should chat to me…what I know about their recently appointed CEO is very illuminating!