Teaching union to ballot staff on strike action

Outwood Academy Brumby secondary school in Scunthorpe is run by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust

Staff at three schools in Scunthorpe will be balloted on industrial action unless the trust that runs them withdraws plans for a longer teaching day, a union said.

The NASUWT teaching union said members at 28 of the 41 schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) faced an extra half hour of teaching from September meaning less time to prepare lessons.

The trust said no teacher would have to work more than their contracted hours and they were disappointed with the union's stance.

OGAT runs two secondary schools in Scunthorpe; Outwood Academy Foxhills and Outwood Academy Brumby, along with primary school Outwood Junior Academy Brumby.

A spokesperson for OGAT said they had ensured that their proposals to increase teaching time spent with students would not require staff to work beyond their contracted hours.

"Our secondary school day currently ends at 2.30pm, which we have to recognise, currently falls short of the Government's 32.5-hour-a-week minimum expectation," the spokesperson explained.

The trust said they were still consulting with staff and were "disappointed that union partners are balloting for industrial action before the consultation ends."

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:

"We have made it clear to OGAT that its plans to substantially increase teacher contact time amounts to one of the worst attacks on teachers' terms and conditions that risks moving OGAT from being a relatively successful trust to one that will experience significant employee turnover and industrial relations problems. "

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