Teachers resume strike action over pupil behaviour

Strike action has resumed at a school after leaders did not introduce a new behaviour policy "appropriately", according to a teachers' union.

About 50 staff at Tewkesbury Academy first walked out on 4 February after experiencing abusive and disruptive student behaviour.

The school said the strike had been paused on 16 March due to new disciplinary action being introduced but NASUWT Gloucestershire's Wendy Exton said on Wednesday that disruptive pupils "were not being challenged by senior staff" and the strike had resumed.

Tewkesbury Academy said "the next steps should be to give time for these new practices to embed" and industrial action was placing "intense pressure" on the school community.

On the first day of strike action, Ian Brownhill, a PE teacher, said some children were going "on the rampage around site most lessons".

A new behaviour management policy was rolled out earlier this month and Exton said the pause in strike action followed "positive progress" with the school but that disruptive behaviour had continued since then.

"We suspended strike action in good faith last week, in order to implement a new behaviour policy," said Exton, NASUWT's national executive member for Gloucestershire.

"However, leaders did not introduce this appropriately which led to confusion amongst staff and pupils and too many students were still continuing with disruptive behaviours that were not being challenged by senior staff.

"We remain hopeful for a resolution and are committed to further talks to seek reassurances that the new behaviour policy will be properly implemented and adhered to by all staff," she added.

A spokesperson for Tewkesbury Academy said union representatives had helped to design the new behaviour policy which would be explained to all teachers, staff and students "as a priority in the first instance".

"Rule changes can occur, but good behaviour needs to be taught and repeated consistently, so the next steps should be to give time for these new practices to embed – which we believe can only be achieved with all staff and students in school," they said.

The school added it hoped to achieve a resolution "as soon as we possibly can".

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