Scalby School forced to close due to strike action

Scalby School will be closed on Tuesday due to strike action from the National Union of Teachers (NUT).
Scalby SchoolScalby School
Scalby School

Parents received a text message today informing them of the decision.

The NUT is taking industrial action in response to Government cuts.

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Mike McDonald, NUT Regional Secretary said: “Teachers go into the profession to make a difference to children’s lives and to develop in them a love of learning.

"No teacher takes strike action lightly. Inadequate levels of funding, however, are having a negative effect on both children and teachers that cannot go unaddressed.

“According to the respected Institute of Fiscal Studies, schools are facing the worst funding cuts since the 1970s.

"This is impacting heavily on the choices and decisions that head teachers in the North East and around the country have to make.

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“We are already seeing an increase in class sizes, a reduction in subject choices for children, especially in the Arts, less materials and books in classrooms and cuts to school trips. Teachers and support staff are being cut or not replaced meaning less individual attention for children. If, as many predict, inflation rises following the EU referendum, then schools will be forced to contend with even larger real term cuts.

"Meanwhile George Osborne is freezing the cash per pupil he gives to schools, whilst increasing what he takes from them. For every 20 teachers employed, a school has to find an extra teacher salary to give to the Treasury.

“On top of the funding cuts, the break-up of the national system of terms and conditions for teachers is a complete distraction for head teachers. Instead of focusing on teaching and learning they will have to spend huge amounts of time negotiating teacher contracts.

Schools need funding to a level where every child is guaranteed an education they deserve and are taught by qualified teachers that schools can afford to employ. Academies should have regard to national terms and conditions for teachers. Parents, children, teachers and the general public expect this of our education system. This should be within every government’s grasp to guarantee. We urge Nicky Morgan to listen."