Academy head teacher leaves weeks after strikes

Staff at Bulwell Academy walked out in January over trust in the school's management

The head teacher of an "inadequate" Nottingham school where teachers went out on strike has left his position.

Damian Belshaw is now pursuing "other opportunities", parents of pupils at Bulwell Academy were told in a letter on Tuesday.

The announcement comes just weeks after staff went on strike, stating they had lost trust in management at the school.

Unions said their members had now voted unanimously to suspend industrial action "following positive progress on how the school is managed".

Marc Jordan, chief executive of the Creative Education Trust (CET), which runs the academy, said: "We would like to thank him for all of the work he has done for the Bulwell community."

Staff at the school, which was placed in special measures in 2022, walked out twice in January as confidence in management "broke down".

Members of the NEU and NASUWT unions took part in action.

Dave Pike, NEU senior regional officer, said problems had centred around "an oppressive" atmosphere and a "massive increase in workloads for staff who were already stretched and doing a huge number of hours over their contracted hours".

He confirmed the joint unions held a meeting on Wednesday afternoon and voted unanimously to end industrial action.

He said it followed "really positive progress on how the school is managed and how workload is being distributed".

"Also on timetabling and how behaviour is managed - we are really happy to see the progress being made," he said.

"Members are happy to hear that management approach has changed in the building."

Anne Thompson, NASUWT national executive member for Nottingham, added: "The trust and confidence in the school management to work with us to find a solution had completely broken down.

"After lengthy negotiations and six days of industrial action taken by our members, we have been able to resolve some of the management issues behind our dispute. We are looking forward to a fresh start."

CET has not commented further on why Mr Belshaw has left the academy.

One union official told the BBC that changes brought in by the principal had led to a "massive increase in workloads"

In his letter to parents, Mr Jordan thanked Mr Belshaw for "all of the work he has done for the Bulwell community".

A spokesperson for the trust added: "After having made significant improvements at Bulwell Academy, including improving behaviour and attendance, Mr Belshaw is leaving Bulwell Academy to pursue other opportunities.

"We thank Mr Belshaw for all his work and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

"Principal Chris Keen will continue to lead on improvements at Bulwell, supported by the senior leadership team."

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