NEU staff on strike at Connaught School for Girls in Leytonstone, have said they will continue their action until Star Academies ‘walk away’ from the transfer plans

Staff at Connaught School for Girls plan to strike for a further twelve days if plans to transfer the school to a multi-academy trust go ahead.

The move would mark the third multi-day strike action by the National Education Union (NEU) at the school this year over the plans. Staff just completed a nine-day strike which began on 11th October and ended on 2nd November.

Yesterday (1st November) about 30 staff participated in a picket line outside the Leytonstone school’s main entrance on Connaught Road.

On the picket, Glenn Kelly, the London NEU regional officer said the NEU was planning twelve days of more strike action starting from the 13th of November if planned talks with dispute body ACAS on 12th November do not produce a positive outcome for staff.

The strike action, if it goes ahead, would occur on 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th, 30th November and 1st December.

Kelly told the Echo that “the school has manipulated figures to make it look like they’re in deficit” in order to justify a transfer to Star Academies.

Kelly added that “there’s no need for [Star Academies] to take over the school on a financial basis” or based on the school’s “performance”, saying that the school ranked as the “fourth-best locally maintained school in the borough”.

If the transfer plan were to go ahead, there would be one more period (lesson) per day, which Kelly says would equate to “25% more lessons a week”. Staff would also be required to work on some Saturdays, he said.

On the school’s finances webpage, a summary of accounts is missing, with a notice stating: “The document is currently being updated”.

The Echo asked Connaught School for Girls for comment on allegations that it “manipulated” its finances, but the school did not respond.

Previously, a representative from the school told the Echo: “The school is disappointed the union has decided to take further strike action, following the disruption earlier this year. Nevertheless, we will continue to work with the unions to try to reach a negotiated settlement.

“Our focus remains on supporting our students to achieve the best possible outcomes and minimising any further disruption to their learning. There has been overwhelming community support for the school to join Star Academies and we’re excited at the benefits it would bring to our school community.”

A teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said the action was only the second she’d participated in during her 29-year career and that she would “keep striking until [Star Academies] walk away”.

She said that the school could find other means of dealing with its alleged deficit instead of seeking Star Academies to run it such as “[hiring] out the playground and halls for community events.”

Star Academies staff can get asked to fill in for staff at other sites, which was as a particular cause of concern for NEU members at the picket line. The NEU member said: “I don’t want to be uprooted and forced to teach in another Star Academies school”.

NEU members have said the transfer plan would lead to potential job losses, detrimental pay, and increased workload. In NEU campaign material shared online, the planned takeover was said to likely cause “exam factory conditions for students, increased stress, and a top down, restricted and prescriptive curriculum.”

Blackburn-based Star Academies, which describes itself as “one of the country’s leading education providers”, currently runs 37 schools around the country, including Eden School for Girls in Walthamstow. The academy trust runs a mix of Muslim faith based schools and non-faith schools and academies.

Staff at Connaught School for Girls have won two concessions as a result of the strike action. The first concession is that there would be no compulsory redundancies under a transfer to Star Academies, while the second is that teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments will be made permanent. TLR payments are made to teachers when schools ask them to take on extra responsibilities beyond what they are required to do.

Star Academies did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

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