Scunthorpe: Teaching union to ballot staff for strike action
Staff at three schools in Scunthorpe will be balloted on industrial action unless the trust that runs them withdraws plans for a longer teaching day, a union said.The NASUWT teaching union said members at 28 of the 41 schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) faced an extra half hour of teaching from September meaning less time to prepare lessons.The trust said no teacher would have to work more than their contracted hours and they were disappointed with the union's stance.OGAT runs two secondary schools in Scunthorpe; Outwood Academy Foxhills and Outwood Academy Brumby, along with primary school Outwood Junior Academy Brumby.
A spokesperson for OGAT said they had ensured that their proposals to increase teaching time spent with students would not require staff to work beyond their contracted hours."Our secondary school day currently ends at 2.30pm, which we have to recognise, currently falls short of the Government's 32.5-hour-a-week minimum expectation," the spokesperson explained.The trust said they were still consulting with staff and were "disappointed that union partners are balloting for industrial action before the consultation ends."Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:"We have made it clear to OGAT that its plans to substantially increase teacher contact time amounts to one of the worst attacks on teachers' terms and conditions that risks moving OGAT from being a relatively successful trust to one that will experience significant employee turnover and industrial relations problems. "Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
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Staff at a school in North Lincolnshire are set to take part in strike action in protest at an academy trust's plans to extend the day for students and teachers by half an NASUWT teaching union said teachers at a number of schools run by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), including Foxhills in Scunthorpe, were taking part in six days of action, with the first on union said the proposed changes would affect teachers' working hours, workload and the welfare of staff and academy trust said it was "exceptionally disappointed" that "our union partners" had decided to take industrial action. According to the union, OGAT schools currently finish at 14:30 BST, with the trust proposing a later finish to comply with the Department for Education's advised 32.5-hour Matt Wrack, the union's acting general secretary, said the proposals should instead focus on lengthening a 30-minute lunch break to provide adequate time for pupils to queue for and eat their lunch, use the toilets and have a break before resuming lessons."The current lunch break is so short that some pupils are not eating or using the toilets, which has a detrimental impact on their health, welfare and ability to focus on learning," Mr Wrack said. Kath Oliver, the union's national executive member for Foxhills, added: "Staff at Foxhills frequently report that they are unable to take a break at all during the school day."The union is calling for OGAT to agree to resume academy trust said it remained open to "constructive dialogue"."The small change we have proposed will mean students can learn more and achieve even stronger outcomes, and will still mean the school day is within the time as set out in the government's school teachers' pay and conditions document," a spokesperson said."We also want to make sure our students are prioritised and provided with the best possible education."Strike action is planned for 3, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 19 June at the school in Scunthorpe. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
