Strike Letter 28th February

Dear Parents/Carers

As I explained in my letter earlier this term, the National Education Union have announced strike action and the proposed dates for this industrial action are:

·         Tuesday 28 February

·         Wednesday 15 March

·         Thursday 16 March

The action may result in some partial or whole school closures across the country. The decision to close a school to all or some students is never taken lightly and we will always try our best to keep the school open to as many students as possible. In order to take the necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of students, a risk assessment has to be carried out to determine if there is a need for a full or partial closure of the school.  Amongst other areas this risk assessment considers:

·         Whether there are likely to be enough suitably qualified staff to enable students to be supervised safely

·         If we can guarantee student to staff ratios will be met

·         Our ability to ensure our emergency procedures including fire and evacuation, can be carried out

We will treat each strike day as an individual instance and decide separately about what will happen at Caldew School. Parents/carers will be informed as soon as a decision is made.

I am writing to you today to inform you of our plans for Tuesday 28 February. Unfortunately, due the reasons outlined above, we will be partially closed and the school will be open to Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 only. Students in all year groups who have EHCPs will also be able to attend school as normal.

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 will not attend school on this day. Students in these year groups will receive remote learning via Firefly. There is no requirement for teachers who are on strike to set work. Students should log onto Firefly at 9am to see which lessons have been set. 

We appreciate that industrial action is disruptive, and you may need to change your plans or working arrangements whilst this action is ongoing. We will, of course, continue to monitor the arrangements in place and make modifications to improve support for students, wherever possible. However, ensuring the health and safety of our students must take priority.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause parents and carers. We will let you know as soon as possible about what will happen on the other strike days.

Yours sincerely

Vicki Jackson

Headteacher