News / schools

Teachers and support staff strike at City Academy

By Martin Booth  Wednesday Apr 24, 2024

Six days of strike action has begun at City Academy for both teachers and support staff.

The strike at the school in Redfield is taking place following a number of accusations including the alleged failure to include breaktime in the directed time budget, and the alleged disparity over additional responsibility payments.

Support staff at the school in Redfield, which is part of the Cabot Learning Federation multi-academy trust, allege mismanagement of cases following complaints from the special education needs and disabilities team.

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There is also an alleged lack of transparency over job evaluation and pay parity for similar support staff roles in the other 26 schools within the trust, which include Brunel Academy in Speedwell, Frome Vale Academy in Downend and Herons’ Moor Academy in Weston-super-Mare.

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees on a visit to City Academy – photo: Bristol City Council

National Education Union (NEU) senior regional officer, Ian McCann, said: “The issues at City Academy are long-standing and have been raised regularly by NEU workplace representatives over the previous couple of years.

“Members are angry and frustrated by the lack of actions from the employer which has resulted in them having to resort to strike action to see the leadership of the school take notice.

“Unfortunately, the school has still not offered enough to meet the very reasonable demands of members despite numerous attempts at negotiations.

“This strike is about staff being treated with respect and fairness in order that they can carry out their important roles effectively – giving students the best education possible.

“There are viable solutions to resolving our dispute which the employer now needs to engage with in meaningful negotiations to avoid the need for further strike action.

“Unless this happens there will be two further days of strike action on 30 April and 1 May.”

In a statement, City Academy principal Ben Tucker said: “A minority of staff at City Academy are participating in National Education Union strikes as part of a dispute over their employment terms.

“It is both a surprise and a disappointment that union members have chosen to strike, given the efforts made to meet their demands.

“We have made credible proposals to resolve every issue, reached agreement on the majority of concerns raised, and believe resolution is near in the outstanding areas.

“This has been achieved within the very short timeframe offered by the NEU, and we continue to work in good faith to secure a full resolution.

“Despite the NEU action, City Academy has remained open to all year groups, and continues to be a vibrant, diverse and dynamic learning environment for all students.”

On May 3, the school on Russell Town Avenue will be one of two locations where Bristol’s local election ballots will be counted and the winners declared.

Main photo: Cabot Learning Federation

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