The NUT is withdrawing from a meeting with the Principal and Chair of Governors at Orwell High School on Monday 15th in protest at the Chair's "unhelpful, injudicious and misleading" comments to the Press (Evening Star) yesterday (Wednesday).
NUT Division Secretary, Martin Goold, said that it was totally false for Mr Webb to suggest that there was any peace pact or that the dispute could be solved "without the need for outside help". Mr Goold said it was the lack of response from the Governors and the need to bring in outside help which have taken members to the brink of industrial action. Mr Webb should be very careful what he says."
NUT action has led to two investigations at the school. The first is due to report soon, on an allegation of harassment against a member of staff. The second is the LEA investigation into poor relationships between the principal and the main body of staff.
Mr Goold explained that the purpose of the meetings he was having with the Principal and Chair of Governors was to ensure that conditions for his members were tolerable during the interim period, while the outcome of these two reports is awaited. "There is still a number of measures which the Management of the school could take to show some concern for staff welfare and to improve the day-to-day running of the school, without wating for the LEA to complete its enquiries", said Mr Goold.
The NUT has also agreed with Management at the school not to release details of their talks except via an agreed statement. It was therefore doubly disappointing that Mr Webb had broken that agreement and given out misleading information. Mr Goold felt that this had exacerbated the already delicate situation.
Following concerns from members over a number of years, the NUT submitted a formal complaint (November 12th 1999) against the conduct of the school in accordance with the LEA's complaints procedure. OFSTED subsequently identified a breakdown in relationships between "senior management" and "some staff", confirming the Union's stance. Since then, no effective action plan has been implemented to address the issues. These include:
The Governors have not responded to the original complaint, neither have they responded to two supporting resolutions from the staff, calling for an investigation into management issues at the school.
The Chair of Governors has not responded to a request to meet with staff to hear their concerns.
NUT members decided not to volunteer for lunchtime supervision, in the light of this failure to address issues which had been raised properly and responsibly, in accordance with procedures.
As management has not responded reasonably and there have been no significant improvements, the Union is not prepared to brook further delay. NUT Representatives will be meeting with members shortly to discuss developing the action to ensure that the management measures delayed since November are now implemented.
Contacts: John Dixon, NUT Regional Official. Tel: 01638 664538 FAX: 01638 666480
Martin Goold, Suffolk NUT Secretary. Tel/FAX: 01284 763980 Mobile: 07850 221051 e-mail: martingoold@suffolknut.org.uk