Lyon Park Primary management coming to the table with new proposals tomorrow (Monday). Petition launched in support of strikers,

 

Lyon Park Primary School strikers appeared to be in good spirits and showing strong solidarity on the fifth day of their strike over worsening conditions of service as a result of a staff restructuring.

The school management is expected to come to the negotiating table with fresh proposals on Monday morning in an effort to reach a settlement.  

If these don't succeed I understand there will be an approach to ACAS on Wednesday.

When I spoke to parents outside the school last week during a leafleting session aimed at informing them of the impact of the restructure, they were keen to say how much they appreciated the work of support staff.  Many talked about the good relationship between staff and pupils, and between parents and the support staff. They told me about the support their children received and how important it was to children with special educational needs or those new to the country at an early stage of leaning English.  They acknowledged the impact of the strike on them and their children but also saw that short-term hurt was better than the long-term damage that would follow if the staff did not stand up against the changes.  Support staff were an important part of the local community.

Lyon Park staff took their struggle to Westminster on Wednesday, Autumn Statement day, when they spoke to an NEU Rally calling for an increase in school funding. Inadequate school funding in the face of rising costs is at the heart of the budget crisis in many London schools, including Lyon Park.

 

A petition has been launched calling on governors to not cut pay and change working conditions:

Dear Governors, 

We are signing this petition to ask you to value our experienced support staff at Lyon Park and to ask you NOT to cut their pay and not to force teaching assistants to cover  [teacher absence] if they are not paid as a higher level teaching assistant.

 

 SIGN HERE

Third day of strike at Lyon Park School to save support staff jobs and pay. Supporting strikers petition launched.

 From Brent National Education Union

 

This morning's picket line

NEU members at Lyon Park Primary School are to strike in a fight to save support staff jobs which are proposed to go in a huge restructure. PICKET LINE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY THIS WEEK 7.45-9.30am!

 

Staff at Lyon Park Primary School will be on strike to save the jobs and pay of their hardworking support staff. Many of these long-serving staff served the school’s community throughout the pandemic and face their jobs either being axed or a situation of “fire and rehire” to drop their pay. Teachers face a loss of support in the classroom and children will lose out on the vital support they need. The school has cited budget difficulties as the reason for the cuts.

 

100% OF NEU MEMBERS WHO VOTED IN THE BALLOT FOR STRIKE ACTION AT THE SCHOOL VOTED TO STRIKE OVER MULTIPLE DATES THIS MONTH WITH TWO MORE DAYS ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK AND THREE THE WEEK AFTER!

 

Staff and their supporters will protest at a picket line outside the school from 7.45am Tuesday and will continue to try to negotiate with the governors in a bid to reach an agreement. The union has twice attended extra talks with the school management but this has so far failed to address the huge proposed loss in pay for staff. The Executive Headteacher has only recently joined the restructuring talks.

 

Jenny Cooper of the NEU national executive has stated:

 

This isn’t rocket science- if the school agrees to protect staff pay in the restructure, the strikes will be called off. Staff do not enjoy striking- teachers enjoy teaching and support staff enjoy supporting children. If they didn’t they could all get better paid jobs elsewhere!!! Our members should be valued for the highly specialised jobs they do.

 

In the video below the staff explain their contribution to the school and children's education. Outside the school yesterday many parents agreed that the staff were essential to enable their children to make good progess.

 

SIGN A PETITION TO SUPPORT THE STRIKERS HERE

 

Lyon Park Primary strikers on second day of the strike: 'We are the backbone of the school' - VIDEO

 

 

There was no need for me to ask anyone how to get to Lyon Park Primary School this morning when I took the shortcut over the railway bridge from London Road. Loud cheering and chanting echoed through the quiet suburban streets off Ealing Road and served as my guide. 

The strikers were in great spirits on the second day of their walkout and their sense of togetherness was strong and getting stronger as they talked about their struggle against wage cuts and worsening of conditions, including transfers to term-time only contracts.

As I have pointed out on Wembley Matters now for several years the worsening school funding crisis and subsequent redundancies affect support staff in schools the most, but have a knock-on effect on teachers' conditions and the quality of education offered by schools.

Lyon Park Primary is not alone in Brent in suffering from a deficit budget but it is he first to implement such drastic cuts after failing to be granted a licensed deficit by the local authority. What is happening at Lyon Park will be a test case closely watched by the governing bodies and senior management of other schools.

The support staff I spoke to this morning were diverse and mainly women whose pay has never been generous but have a fierce commitment to the children they work with.  Many have been at the school for more than 30 years and working with the second or third generation of children. They are proud of their role and the way it has evolved into a professional (though often unrecognised as such) job over the past few decades.

The support staff described themselves as the backbone of the school, well known to the local community and often the first port of call for both parents and children experiencing difficulties.

They emphasised that they played a valuable part in moving the school out of the Ofsted 'Requiring Improvement' category and now feel betrayed.

Three days of strikes are planned for next week and further escalation thereafter. 

It appears that the management has been taken aback by the strength of the strike action and the support and solidarity strikers have received. I understand that the unions are due to meet with the headteacher for talks on Monday morning.

Stay tuned to Wembley Matters for further updates.

 

Barry Gardiner joins picket line as Lyon Park Primary School closed by strike against pay cuts

 

Lyon Park Primary School was closed today as National Education Union members went on strike to oppose wage cuts that the management want to impose on some staff as part of a restructure.

Brent North MP, Barry Gardiner, visited the picket line and told the spirited strikers:

Thank God you've got a union that actually supports you! All support to you.

It's great that you have the NEU backing you in this dispute. I know it is tough but stick it out.

Actually, you see time and time again that you win because when the union backs you, you keep on going - build the solidarityand that will mean ultimately you can win this dispute.

 

Following talks failure Lyon Park Primary School strikes are back on - the first tomorrow and more next week

The concessions made by Lyon Park Primary School that led to the suspension of planned strikes over the staffing restructure have not been sufficient according to Brent NEU and so strikes are back on.

More talks took place during the suspension period but did not settle the issue in which at least five members of staff  expect to lose up to £4,500 pay a year as a result of the restructure.  The NEU say that in addition teaching assistants are being required to undertake unacceptable levels of cover.

NEU members at the school have voted to continue their action and will be on strike Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. There was an 83% turnout in the ballot of whom 100% voted to strike.