SCHOOL strike action is likely to be on this year’s timetable, according to a teachers’ union official from Bolton.
Teachers have been voicing their anger about Government reforms to the education system during the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) annual conference — the largest teachers’ union in UK — over the Easter weekend.
Liz Forrest, publicity officer for the Bolton Association of the NASUWT, said the mood among teachers had been “very forthright” during discussions and that strike action was likely.
Speaking from the conference in Bournemouth, Ms Forrest said: “Strike action is looking very positive and I think it’s going to kick off in the North West, which is the same for Bolton and Bury. The mood has been very forthright to all motions during the sessions. Many teachers have said enough is enough.”
Ofsted inspections, fair pay and concerns about pupil behaviour were top of the agenda during motion debates.
Ms Forrest added: “We have listened to a series of very passionate and interesting debates. The most prominent were about the inspection framework, fair pay and the way we are treated by the Government.”
A survey conducted by the NASUWT revealed widespread concern about the effect of reforms on schools’ ability to maintain discipline and promote positive pupil behaviour.
In the survey of NASUWT members, 85pc of teachers say they have experienced verbal abuse from a pupil during the past 12 months.
Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “This survey shows that teachers are working hard to maintain high standards of behaviour, but in too many cases are not being supported appropriately.
“It is a sad indictment that almost half of teachers feel they are not supported in maintaining discipline by school management.”
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) also held their annual conference in Liverpool during the Bank Holiday weekend.
The two unions represent more than 600,000 staff — with the NUT having members in England and Wales and the NASUWT having members across the UK.
These conferences have often seen votes for industrial action, but this year the two teachers unions have pre-empted this by already announcing details of a campaign of strikes and industrial action.
A series of local strikes will begin in the summer term to be followed by a one-day national strike in the autumn.
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