Teachers locked out of school to return to classes

Teachers locked out of a secondary school after they voted to take industrial action short of a strike are to return to classrooms on Thursday, a union said.

The NASUWT said about 25 members had agreed to "de-escalate" their action at Gable Hall School in Corringham, Essex, "to provide the employer with the opportunity to meet with us and negotiate a resolution to the current dispute over workload and working practices".

The teachers union added that if no opportunity to resolve the dispute was forthcoming, further industrial action was likely in January.

The school's principal and the academy trust that runs it has been asked to respond to the latest announcement.

During the dispute, the Ortu Federation, which runs the school, told the BBC it had asked staff members to "fulfil contractual obligations of 1,265 hours per academic year as set out in the current edition of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, which came into force on 3 November 2023".

It took the decision to keep staff out of school on 11 December after they decided not to comply with tasks.

"During this period of industrial action, the participating employees should stay away from work and will not be paid... until they are prepared to comply with their contractual obligations in full," it said in a staff letter.

The NASUWT said it took the decision to return to classrooms to prevent any further negative impact on pupils and "to allow educational trips and visits to take place unaffected by the employer's actions".

Patrick Roach, the union's general secretary, said they were "ready and willing to engage in negotiations at any time, as we have been throughout this dispute".

"The decision of the employer to lock out our members is damaging pupils' education," he added.

In a separate action, the GMB union said it had collected about 700 signatures opposing the loss of 30 support staff at Gable Hall School and another run by the Ortu Federation - Hassenbrook Academy in nearby Stanford-le-Hope.

The union claimed it was told these were necessary cuts due to an alleged £1.2m "accounting error".

Jasmin Deans, GMB regional organiser, said: "Support staff play a vital role in ensuring the wellbeing and safety of pupils – particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send)."

She added the union was deeply concerned Send pupils might no longer have the support they needed.

Gable Hall and the Ortu Federation have been asked to comment about the alleged financial shortfall and any potential job cuts.

Ortu Federation is in the process of being transferred to the Mossbourne Federation from January.

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