Copland teachers to strike against forced academisation tomorrow

Teaching staff at Copland Community School in Wembley will be on strike for the second time on Wednesday 3rd July.

The school will be closed to pupils due to the action. There will be a picket line from 8am in the morning. Then staff will be marching at 9am, with parent, pupil and local community support, to the new Brent Civic Centre in Engineers Way to call upon the Labour led Council to stop assisting Michael Gove's forced academy programme.

There will be an effigy of Michael Gove which will be ceremoniously dumped in a dustbin (the dustbin of history) and lots of Gove masks to make the point.

Jon Cox, Brent NASUWT Acting President  said, “ A programme of academisation is not about raising standards. It is simply the imposition of a warped political ideology on state schools. Unequivocal
evidence that academies raise the quality of education simply does not exist. What Copland needs is investment in both staff professional development and attractive buildings which give pupils firstly, the decent working environment they deserve and secondly, the message that every child matters”

Hank Roberts, Brent ATL Secretary and National President said, “Michael Gove's dismantling of state education and attempted abolition of parental choice in his forced academies programme is treacherous. For this he should be put in the dustbin of history where he and his policies belong”.

Jean Roberts, Joint Brent NUT Secretary said, “Forcing Copland to become an academy is not the solution and won't bring in the needed funds. How can any pupil learn adequately in such an appalling building. There needs to be a new school building plan agreed and begun as soon as possible in the autumn term.'

Further union action planned on Alperton academy conversion

60 NUT members at Alperton Community school in Wembley were on strike on Thursday 31st May against their school becoming a Co-operative academy. Pickets at the Upper and Lower school sites reported that things were very quiet both in numbers of staff from other unions going in and the number of pupils. Obviously many pupils had decided to take the day off unless they had exams. Leaflets had been distributed to pupils for their parents the day before to explain why the teachers were on strike.

Martin Allen, one of the NUT Reps, said: “There is opposition among staff to academies and with how decisions have been made. There’s no evidence academies benefit students. We feel the consultation process at Alperton has been imposed rather than discussed.”

Hank Roberts, joint secretary of the Brent Teachers Association, said: “It was a successful strike with hardly any pupils or teachers turning up. We are seeking a resolution with the head teacher. Our members voted for discontinuous industrial action in a ballot which means we do not need another ballot to take further action.”

Jean Roberts, joint secretary of the Brent Teachers Association, added, "We left staff planning their next moves over breakfast in a local cafe. It was clear that this strike was only part of their campaign to stop the school becoming an academy and further action would follow in the near future".

NUT members will be meeting after half term to plan their next moves.