Teachers' strike resumes at 'toxic' junior school

The first strike day at the school took place in March

Strike action resumes on Wednesday at a school where staff are complaining about heavy workloads, poor management and bullying.

The strikes had been suspended after talks between the trust that runs Rothwell Junior School in Northamptonshire and the NASUWT union.

Now two further days of action will see the school closed to all pupils apart from one year group.

The Pathfinder Trust said it was making the improvements needed and a review had "not upheld" the bullying claims.

The teachers say there is a "toxic environment" at the school

Teachers at Rothwell Junior School started a series of six days of action in March..

After the first strike day, further talks took place and the stoppages planned for later in March were called off.

Richard Kempa, the NASUWT secretary for north Northamptonshire, said: "The action was paused to allow the employer some time to investigate our concerns.

"They have given us feedback from their findings and it doesn't really do enough to allay the fears of our members."

Mr Kempa said the teachers' concerns included "the bullying that was going on [and] the workplace stress that was evident".

He added: "They were part of a toxic culture that exists within the school."

Richard Kempa from the NASUWT union said the school was not doing enough to allay teachers' concerns

The Pathfinder Trust, which runs the school, said that it would be closed to all year groups except year six, whose teachers had agreed to work.

Year six pupils are preparing for the national SATS tests and their transition to secondary school.

Mr Kempa said: "We are always very sensitive about how [strike action] affects parents and carers.

"This is a last resort for us. We have been raising concerns since the beginning of October and this is about our members working effectively and efficiently for the young people in their classes."

Strike action had been paused to give the school time to investigate the concerns

The Pathfinder Trust added: "The teachers are striking over claims of bullying. We take any claims of this nature extremely seriously and as such commissioned independent HR experts to investigate these concerns in full.

"The allegations of bullying were not upheld. The experts' report makes a series of recommendations, all of which will be implemented, with many already in progress."

"We continue to do everything we can to reach out to concerned staff and remain hopeful that we can find a way forward.”