Rossendale Teachers Strike Against Academy Proposals

On Thursday 12th July 70 members of the NUT and NAS/UWT at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School took strike action for a day closing the school.  This was to send a clear message to their Head teacher and Governors  - We Don't Want an Academy Here! 

As one of the placards read: “Ask students, staff, parents and the community what they want” – and, of course, the proper result: THEN GIVE IT TO THEM!

NUT and NASUWT colleagues leafletted parents and gave out over 350 information sheets about the concerns teachers had. Parents were very concerned and interested to know why the Head was taking such a radical decision. 

Jonathan Gleeson (Secretary for Rossendale NUT) said that, "I strongly believe that it is not too late for the Governors to take another look. BRGS has a dedicated and professional staff providing the very best for their students. There will be one or two winners in this deal but, I fear, many more losers."

Commenting on the strike, Sam Uddin (secretary of Lancashire NUT) said, "This is an excellent turnout of enthusiastic members of both unions – with members of their families in tow – expressing vociferously their rejection of academy model of education with the consequential change of employer and threat to conditions of service."

"The Department of Education is running in fear of the fight-back against Academies in Lancashire – hence the un-deserved threat to 32 primaries announced on the same day. The lack of justification for the threat further underlines the political posturing behind the GOVErnment’s policies."

Click here for more about the government's threats to force academy status on Lancashire primary schools

Click here to read more about why we oppose academies.

Click here to read more from About My Area

Click here to read the news in the Lancashire Telegraph