Oasis Academy Lord's Hill chief responds to strike plans

The National Education Union confirmed yesterday that staff at Oasis Academy Lord's Hill are set to take industrial action on June 25 and July 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11. 

This is due to a number of issues - including a failure to manage student behaviour, staff safety and excessive workloads.

In response, the chief executive at the academy trust behind the school said a new principal had started - and that it has taken "decisive action" to address concerns. 

READ MORE: Staff at Oasis Academy Lord's Hill in Southampton set to strike

John Barneby, chief executive of Oasis Community Learning told the Echo: “Nobody wants to see strike action, and we are keen to work to minimise the disruption to our students and families and to make sure that it never gets to this point again.

"We understand the concerns of staff and have taken decisive action to address them. Over the last half term, there has been a change of leadership with a real commitment to transforming the school and the working environment.

"The new interim principal and his leadership team have met with and listened to staff and started the hard work needed to make Lord’s Hill a great place to work.

"There has been a new behaviour and culture action plan, a new approach to on-call support, the launch of a new benefits and rewards scheme, and a whole host of other changes as requested by staff.

"It is a journey, but one headed in the right direction. We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone involved and we deeply value the dedication and hard work of all our staff.

"We are all committed to finding a resolution that supports both our employees and our students.”

Oasis Academy Lord's Hill (Image: Stock)

A picket is set to be held from 7.30 to 9.30am on Tuesday, June 25 at the school on Romsey Road.

Nick Childs, Senior Regional Officer, said: “Whilst progress has been made in negotiations this has been insufficient to assure our members that it is safe for them to be in school and that behaviour management will improve rapidly enough.

"There are also several issues outstanding in relation to excessive workload in the school.

"There remains a real issue of lack of trust in Oasis management amongst members and this is making reaching an agreement difficult."

Members at the Oasis Academy, Sheppey, Kent also struck over the same issue in November.

Redbridge councillor, Sally Goodfellow - herself a school governor - added: "If the union has balloted staff for industrial action all avenues would have been exhausted and this decision would not have been taken lightly.

"Teachers go into the profession to teach but so much more is expected of them these days.

"Violent behaviour in any other job setting would not be tolerated so why should it be in education.

"As a school governor in a primary setting I see the daily challenge teachers are faced with while trying to teach."

Oasis Community Learning said the interim headteacher was appointed after a vacancy to ensure a "smooth transition to continue providing excellent education".