National Union of Teachers (NUT)

Teachers at Connaught School started a two day strike today (Wed 7th) against plans to force the school to become an academy. There were more than thirty people on the picket line, and all NUT members at the school were out on strike. NASUWT are balloting for strike action.

The teachers said they had received welcome support from the teachers at Stratford School, also striking  at the moment against attempts by the head to dock their pay by 15% for carrying out the ongoing NUT work to rule.

The picket will start at 7:15 am tomorrow and pickets welcome support from the community.

On Tuesday morning (16th Oct) strike action by National Union of Teachers (NUT) members closed Connaught School for Girls in Leytonstone. Several NLSF members who live locally to the school, as well as local parents and students joined the picket.
The teachers took strike action in protest at plans to turn the secondary school into an academy. Across the borough, primary and secondary schools are being academised/privatised and plans are underway for a freeschool to be set up in Walthamstow.
The teachers at Connaught are preparing for further strike action and may be out again next week on Wednesday.
NLSF members are involved in the struggle against academies in WalthamForest and Solfeds Education Workers Network have previously produced an academies special edition of the Education Worker which highlights the many reasons why academies are bad for education workers, children and our communities.

(Un)Qualified teachers wanted.
While the eyes of most people, both critical and uncritical, are drawn to the Olympics, secretary of state for Education, Michael Gove, has introduced possibly his most significant and destructive piece of reform.

Academies no longer need to employ qualified teachers to teach lessons. Gove heralds this as 'freedom' for academies to employ 'the best for the job'. So while trying to raise the profile of teaching, he's doing the exact opposite. But this is a smokescreen. This is nothing to do with profile, or improving education, or getting 'the best for the job'. It has everything to do with driving down pay and conditions.

Bournville School on strike next week. Worthing High out this week. Noel Park School, Haringey out.

Bournville School Strike
Bournville School in south Birmingham is set to face two days of strike action next week over plans to convert the school to 'foundation' school status. Workers at the school had successfully defeated plans to force an academy conversion less than a year ago after threats of joint strike action and a community campaign.

The latest action is set for Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th July in "protest at the failure of the school to enter into meaningful consultation regarding proposed conversion to Foundation status and in protest at the change of employer with resultant threat to terms and conditions."

Our bulletin for the June 30th public sector strikes. Including:

• Why should I care about public sector pensions?
• Claimants: today is a strike day
• Disabled people answer June 30 strike call
• Plus: a map of pickets and demonstrations in Brighton (see our online map here)

Download as a pdf (double-sided A4).

Bulletin for the June 30th public sector strikes - Why care about public sector pensions? (2011)

View J30 Brighton in a larger map

This map shows all the school closures, picket lines and demonstrations planned for the June 30th co-ordinated strikes in Brighton. It is a work in progress - please comment below if you spot any errors or have any additions! We will also be adding the planned route of the demonstration once we have spoken to the organisers. Parents may find the following information (via the RMT union) helpful - and if you are taking the day off to look after the kids, why not join the demonstration at 10:30 at the Level to show your support for the strikes?