10th March 2023
10 March 2023
Dear Parents/Carers of St George’s,
National Education Union (NEU) – Strike Action
1 February 2023, 28 February 2023, 15 March 2023 and 16 March 2023
Further to my letter dated 23 January 2023 re: planned official NEU strike action involving NEU teacher members, I’m getting in touch to give you as much notice as possible about our arrangements for the planned consecutive third and fourth days of strike action on Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March 2023.
I wish to inform you that the following classes will be open on both Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March 2023 at St George’s Catholic Primary School:
Year 1/Year 2 – open
Year 3/Year 4 - open
Year 5/Year 6 – open
Nursery/Reception Class is closed due to the official strike action of NEU teacher members.
If your child is in Nursery/Reception Class please do not send them to school on Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March because your child’s class will be closed.
As you know, the strike is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government over teachers’ pay and conditions, and not because of any issues at our school. All teachers at St George’s are union members but not all teachers are members of the NEU and other unions have not voted for strike action yet. Other non-striking unions have issued guidance to their members about how they should respond, including not covering classes for striking colleagues.
The closure of classes at St George’s is not a decision which has been made lightly. We have worked alongside the local authority and our Trust to ensure safeguarding, child protection and health and safety requirements in school can be met. It is safe for school to remain partially open.
If your child is in Reception and entitled to a Free School Meal, St George’s will provide you with a voucher to cover the cost of a lunch on both days. Breakfast Club and After School Club will run as normal for those classes which are still open.
I am so sorry that you will have to make alternative arrangements for your child whilst their class is closed and that they will experience some disruption to their education. I understand that this situation may be frustrating, and ask that all members of our school community continue to treat each other with respect and dignity. Everyone at St George’s remains committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our pupils and delivering high-quality teaching.
We are working closely with our staff union representatives to keep up to date with the situation, and I will inform you as soon as possible if arrangements change further.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact school via email: office@stgcps.org or telephone: 0191 2675677.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Anne Bullerwell
Headteacher
