Teachers locked out the school with confidence

At least 25 teachers have been thrown out of a secondary school after voting in favor of taking industrial action rather than strike.

Members of teachers union NASUWT at Gable Hall School in Corringham, Essex have been involved in an ongoing dispute over workload and working practices.

Ortu Federation is currently running the school with Mossborne Trust Management, who will formally take over on 31 December. In a letter to the union, the lockout was confirmed from Wednesday.

“During this period of industrial action, participating employees must remain off work and will not be paid,” the letter said.

“Participating employees will not be permitted to enter the premises or perform their duties until they are prepared to fully comply with their contractual obligations.”

Kim Wollerthun, an NASUWT organizer for the Eastern Region, said the trust had introduced new policies that conflicted with teachers’ contractual agreements – such as requiring staff to stop at lunch time, during line-up before lessons and Children have to be supervised while taking cover lessons.

“All these elements and changes have a detrimental impact on their health and well-being and have led to many teachers leaving schools,” Mr Vollerthun said.

Speaking anonymously to the BBC, one teacher said staff had already suspended action in November in the hope of reaching an agreement.

The teacher said he was not offered any leave or extra pay in exchange for the extra duties and was concerned about what he described as “adverse management practices”.

NASUWT said its members planned to refuse cover for absence unless they were employed wholly or mainly on contract on this basis.

The union said it has taken up the matter directly with the Secretary of State for Education.

The Ortu Federation told the BBC it had asked staff members to “meet contractual obligations of 1,265 hours per academic year set out in the current version of the school teachers’ pay and conditions document, which came into force on 3 November 2023”.

It states: “The federation’s aim is for students to learn in a safe environment and make excellent progress.”