Press release from Brent ATL and NUT
Today teachers and support staff again reluctantly too strike action at St Andrew and St Francis CofE Primary in Belton Rd,
Willesden, Brent against the school being forced to become an academy. They
were joined on the picket line by parents and children. Two ‘Fat Cats’ informed
the crowd that they were hoping to makes ‘loadsa money’ from schools like this
when education was privatised. They were resoundingly booed. Union speakers
made the point that if as the Interim Executive Board was saying that nothing was going to change
what other reason could there be for converting. Messages of support were read
out from around the country.
Irene Scorer, parent, thanked staff and
parents for supporting the action. She announced that parents had organised
another open meeting for next Thursday 30th at 7.00 pm at St
Andrew’s Church and urged them to spread the word among other parents. .
The parents are demanding an independently
overseen ballot with full information of the arguments for and against an
academy. Hank Roberts on behalf of the unions said that
action planned for next week could still be called off if the IEB only agreed
to this ballot.
After the picket the crowd marched along
Willesden High Rd to Dawn Butler’s campaign headquarters. She is the
prospective Labour candidate in the general election. Though the office was
closed a group of parents were aiming to show Dawn Butler their petition
against the academy and urge her to publicly support the independent ballot.
