Teachers begin strike over disruptive behaviour

Strike action by teachers in a row over disruptive behaviour by some pupils has begun.

Staff at Haydon Bridge High School in Northumberland are taking action on Tuesday and Wednesday, with further strike days scheduled between 16 and 18 December.

Both the National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT union have said the walkout is due to a lack of progress on talks to implement a "robust behaviour management system".

Headteacher David Nisbet said work between the school, the unions, staff and Northumberland County Council will continue to try to find a way forward. The school said it remains open for years 7 and 11 on the strike days.

Previous strikes, scheduled on 19 and 25 of November, were called off for talks, but a representative of NEU said at the time that industrial action was "still very much on the cards" if improvements were not made.

Sean Kelly, branch secretary for the Northumberland NEU, said "nothing" had been done by the school "in the last few weeks".

"We have given them chance after chance," he said.

Julie Parkin, NASUWT national executive member for Northumberland, said the union believed the "school leadership is currently failing in its duty of care to staff and pupils".

"No school can operate effectively without a robust behaviour management system, which is consistently implemented and in which school management takes the lead."

She said the union had given the school "numerous opportunities" to put one in place.

The school's most recent Ofsted monitoring report stated there was "persistent disruptive behaviour of a minority of pupils that is leading to high levels of suspensions".

The school's leadership previously said changes had been introduced which reduced suspensions by more than 30%.

Mr Nisbet said he was "disappointed" by industrial action and the school is trying to "minimise the impact on pupils' education".

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