Sefton high school staff set to strike in row over safety

Staff at the school in Crosby will walk out on Wednesday

Dozens of high school staff are to stage a walkout in a row over safety.

The National Education Union (NEU) said 29 of its members at St Michael's Church of England High School in Crosby will begin strikes on Wednesday over "serious failures" by the Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust (LDST).

The strike has been called following a ballot of staff in which all asked backed the move, the union said.

Further walkouts could take place if conciliation talks fall through.

The school, on St Michael's Road, is the only Church of England secondary school in Sefton.

The NEU said 100% of its members at St Michael's supported the strike action due to "serious failures" by LDST to implement a consistent behaviour policy at the school which the union said had placed staff and pupils at risk.

Talks were ongoing with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to try and resolve the dispute and prevent the need for further strike days. Should these fail, an additional five strikes will be held.

A NEU picket line will be at the school on Wednesday morning.

Jim Dye, a senior regional officer of NEU, said: "We have been negotiating with Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust since last summer on the serious issues in the school, and where our members have felt unsupported and undermined by their employer.

"While these negotiations have been productive, they have not yet resulted in any improvements in the school and NEU members have run out of patience to see meaningful changes implemented."

A spokesperson for St Michael's Church of England High School, said: "We have worked hard to find a negotiated settlement however this has not been successful.

"The school's leadership regrets that this strike is happening and has started to put into place plans to minimise the disruption to pupils - particularly those studying hard for important exams.

"We have sent details to parents and are sorry for any disruption caused. We will continue to work to minimise the disruption."