Members of the NUT at Kimberley School have voted overwhelmingly for strike action against academy status. The first day of strike action is scheduled for Tuesday, May 29, with two further days of action after half-term.
Teachers at Kimberley are concerned that the school are attempting this move during the exam season, just a couple of months after the governors had appeared to abandon the idea. The sudden volte-face does not fill members with confidence regarding management promises that no changes will be made to their pay and conditions. Evidence from academies across the country suggests that their worries are not unfounded.
However, the primary motivation for the action is not staff pay and conditions but the education of students and Kimberley School and other schools across the county.
Rush messages of support to Reps Tiffany Raine & Maria Fawcett maria.fawcett@nottsnut.co.uk
More information at http://www.nottsnut.co.uk/
Hands Off Our Schools
public meeting on the future of The Kimberley School
All Welcome
Tuesday 29th May at 7.30pm
Kimberley Parish Hall, Newdigate Street, Kimberley
Speakers:
Liam Conway, Joint Secretary Notts NUT
Mary McGuckin, local parent and Labour councillor
Andrea Oates, Hands Off Our Schools Campaign
Also invited (not confirmed): Chris Teal, Headteacher of The Kimberley School and John Wilson OBE, Chair of Governors
Notts Hands Off Our Schools press release
A new campaign has been launched to keep The Kimberley School in Nottinghamshire at the heart of its community and to reject academy status.
Just three months ago the governors voted unanimously that it would not be in the best interests of the school to change status “at this time”. The decision followed a comprehensive consultation exercise and vigorous opposition from parents and teaching staff to academy conversion.
However the governors have now voted to pursue academy status – angering parents and others in the community who want Kimberley to remain within the Nottinghamshire County Council family of schools.
The campaigners are supporting the vote by NUT members at the school to take strike action over academy conversion and they have launched an online petition, which can be found via http://nottsantiacademies.org.
Local parent and Labour councillor for Cossall and Kimberley Mary McGuckin said: “We are urging the governors of The Kimberley School to think again about conversion to academy status. There’s absolutely no evidence that converting to an academy improves educational attainment for students and there are a huge number of risks because these are uncharted waters. What happens if a school is hit by a fire or a flood and no longer has the local authority safety net to fall back on for support?”
Anyone who wants further information about the campaign can visit: http://nottsantiacademies.org, email: nottshandsoffourschools@hotmail.co.uk or follow on Twitter at @Notts_Schools and @savekimberley.
