School teachers plan strike amid ‘bullying’ claims
Staff ‘feel sick’ at thought of work:
TEACHERS who “feel sick” at the thought of going to work at a Welsh comprehensive are planning on going on “strike” over allegations of bullying and unhappiness with the way the school is being managed.
It is understood 43 of the 48 teachers at Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School in Brackla, Bridgend, were planning on “walking out” on January 15 and 16, and again on January 29 and 30.
It is not known whether or not the school will be open to all pupils on the proposed dates yet.
Teaching union, the NASUWT, confirmed it was involved in a dispute at the school and it suspended one day of strike action before Christmas as progress was being made in resolving the dispute.
One teacher claimed there was a “culture of fear” at the school.
“People are too afraid to speak out, the atmosphere at the school is bad. People are off on sick due to stress, it’s not good at all,” claimed the teacher, who did not want to be named.
“We have been building up to this for the last couple of years, there’s been some big changes with the timetable and how the day works but the reason why we are going on strike is to do with how the school is run and the decisions that have been made and the way staff are treated.”
“People have been sacked for silly, various reasons and also disciplinaries for silly, personal reasons and there’s just been a climate of fear which has grown within the school – enough is enough.
“It’s the first time in the school’s history that we are striking. It’s the worst it’s ever been and people are scared to speak out.
“They claimed morale was very poor, and that the kids and staff were great, but that changes were needed in the way the school was run.”
Another teacher, who also did not want to be named, added: “There needs to be some kind of dialogue with the staff,” while another member of staff claimed: “We are spoken down to if anyone challenges anything, we are not allowed to ask any questions. We are being blamed for everything – students are asking ‘why do we want this to happen’ when we weren’t even consulted.
“We are being bullied and ignored at the moment,” they claimed.
The situation is even claimed to have led to the teacher suffering with anxiety.
“I’ve never suffered with anxiety in my life and I now know the symptoms and feelings of anxiety. I haven’t gone to the doctors because I know they will sign me off. I love my job and I do it to help the students.
“Every day I panic and think what is going to happen next. We are on edge and on pins all the time.
“Thankfully we had Christmas and I like to be a positive person but I’m really struggling at the moment. I’m struggling when I’m waking up, I’m panicking and feeling sick and worried, ‘what is going to come next, who are they going to pick on’.
The teacher claimed “the joy has been taken out of the job”.
“I’ve seen my colleagues in tears, it’s affecting staff and staff are going off on sick. It’s not a nice place to work at the moment.
“The staff room has been full which wouldn’t have happened last year. The only good thing that has come from this is that it has united the staff,” they added.
A spokesman for Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School said: “The last five years have seen huge improvements in both standards and results at the school.
“With pupil achievements at an all-time high, the school has moved from an ‘amber’ category to ‘green’, and has held this higher banding for the last two years in a row.
“The school is awaiting the results of a recent Estyn inspection, and we are confident that this will continue to reflect the progress that has been made in the last five years.
“Against this backdrop of success, it is disappointing to learn that some staff wish to take industrial action, especially as the school has been working with NASUWT to address their concerns.
“The school is approaching the NASUWT for further clarification as if the industrial action goes ahead, it will inevitably have an effect on our pupils and is likely to cause a great deal of disruption for parents.”
Chris Keates, general secretary (acting) of the NASUWT, said: “The NASUWT members at Archbishop McGrath regret any disruption this strike action causes to pupils or parents, but they have been left with no choice other than to take this action”
She added: “We hope that the employer will recognise the need to take its duty of care to its employees seriously so that further strike action can be avoided.”