Chain of free schools faces strike action over 37-point list of concerns put together by National Education Union

A small chain of free schools is facing strike action by teachers over a 37-point list of concerns raised by their union, including worries about pupil safety, long working hours and staff allegedly being left in tears by its leadership.

The move by the National Education Union comes months after more than 300 parents of children being educated at schools run by Canary Wharf College Ltd, in Tower Hamlets, East London, signed a petition voicing their own concerns, which they say have not been fully addressed by trustees.

The trust, which opened its first school in 2011 under founding chief executive Sarah Counter, has seen many changes since the arrival of her successor, Joanne Taylor, in January, including the introduction of a new curriculum and the appointment of a host of new “directors”.

Goings-on at the Canary Wharf institutions may also underline the non-standard approaches which have sometimes been on offer under the free schools programme, with parents at one of the schools mentioning that it lacks outdoor space and thus that children play in a pedestrianised street at break times.

The detail

In an indicative ballot held earlier this term, NEU members at the trust’s three schools – a secondary and two primaries, educating 1,100 pupils in total as of January – voted overwhelmingly in favour of moving to a formal vote on strike action. The union said 90 per cent voted to this, on a 94 per cent turnout.

The substantive vote itself closed yesterday. The result, just disclosed by the union today, was 77 per in favour of industrial action, on an 81 per cent turnout. Strike action is thus pencilled in to start next month, although the union is in talks with the trust’s leadership tomorrow, which it hopes could avert the need for action.

Education Uncovered has seen a letter sent by the union last month to the trust’s management. It has 37 bullet points of concerns, in a document which paints a picture of an overstretched workforce and a series of warnings about health and safety.

Safety

On the latter, under “safeguarding,” the NEU warns of what it says are concerns including:

“Large numbers of children in outdoor areas on site (rooftop playgrounds, nets) and off site (Power League) without adequate supervision and adult: child ratios, first aiders, or safe protocols for incidents such as challenging behaviour.

“On rooftop playgrounds, additional concerns include load-bearing capabilities of rooftop playgrounds, safety of fences, and space per child outside.

“PE off site daily without adequate adult-child ratios, first aiders, or safe protocols for incidents such as challenging behaviour.

 “Lack of support for vulnerable primary pupils/pupils with SEND who should have 1:1 support…

“School safeguarding policy is not currently shared online.”

At one of the schools, Canary Wharf College, Glenworth, I understand from parents that there is no outside playground, so the children play on a pedestrianised street outside the school, under supervision by one or two teaching assistants.

SEND

On the provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the letter warns:

“One SENDCO [SEND co-ordinator], despite doing a brilliant job in an impossible position, is expected to cover three full time roles across primary and secondary. There is currently one assistant paid at the level of a TA [teaching assistant], despite an increasing number of pupils with SEND in all three schools.

“Classes are told to use 1:1 SEND TAs as class TAs.

“Staff are told all children should be accessing the ambitious curriculum, and the bottom 20% should attend tutoring, but there is no flexibility for children with additional needs who are not benefitting from this curriculum.

“All staff are ambitious and want all their children to achieve their full potential, but staff are told they cannot change planning or teaching points, which means they cannot adapt lessons or provision to suit the immediate needs of their class, which in turn is causing more challenging behaviour and additional needs, particularly in [reception] and KS1 [key stage 1].”

Staff contracts and workload

On contracts, the union warned:

“There is a lack of recognition of the role of teachers’ contracts, and a lack of consistency within contracts. Statements made by the trust CEO [Ms Taylor] have implied that contracts will be [unilaterally] changed.

“Staff have been instructed to work hours that do not match those set out in their individual contracts.

“Expectations of the hours that staff are told to work have risen since January 2023 and now drastically exceed the statutory DFE directed time limit of 1,265 hours, by up to 346 hours…”

The letter included detailed calculations underlying the above figure.

Changes to the curriculum put in place by the trust, it added, were creating “unmanageable” levels of workload – for both experienced staff and for the early career teachers who had been recruited in “huge” numbers by the trust.

Teachers were spending “hours” printing off stickers to put on pupils’ books, the letter said. It added: “When staff are absent, including leadership staff such as the RWI [Read Write Inc phonics scheme] lead, staff on far lower pay scales are expected to cover their roles with little or no support, with no additional pay.” The implication was that this was higher level assistants, who were being required to do this work even though doing so was not in their contracts.

The letter added that: “Staff welfare has not been addressed when workload concerns have been raised with SLT [the senior leadership team].”

On pay, the letter said that “the trust’s pay policy was not followed last year, so existing staff did not have appraisals and were not informed about their pay progression or how to move up the pay scales.”

It added:

“Staff at the top of their range or on the upper pay range did not have the opportunities to evidence their development and apply to progress…

“There is not clarity on the hiring policy. We are concerned positions were appointed without pre-existing staff being offered a realistic chance to apply.

“There is currently no provision for maternity pay in staff contracts, which is not in line with other schools in Tower Hamlets…[and]

“TLRs [Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments] are not always fully paid. TLR payments have been changed and relabelled without consultation with the recipients.”

Communications

Among the most eye-catching and emotive points raised in this letter were those about interactions between senior staff and the classroom workforce.

The letter stated: “Many staff across all three schools have raised concerns with the NEU about the manner in which they have been spoken to by members of the Trust Leadership Team…

“It has been reported to the NEU [that] staff have been publicly embarrassed in front of colleagues and pupils, shouted at and gestured at, had their work called names including ‘garbage’ and in some cases reduced to tears by members of the trust leadership team…

“The NEU is aware that several staff have needed to take time off due to work related stress; while an individual’s health is a private matter, it is a concern to the staff writing this letter that so many experienced staff are unwell at the same time.”

Parents’ concerns

The issue of staff welfare was also raised in a 15-page document setting out its own concerns, which was put together by parents, and which the document itself states was signed by 309 of them. It also mentioned teachers being seen sobbing.

This said: “We are…concerned about the well-being of staff and allegations of unprofessional conduct from the new administration. We have heard several first-hand accounts from staff and recognise that they are operating in an increasingly stressful workplace. Our children have witnessed teachers crying, which quite frankly is appalling for a modern work environment. We are not only concerned for their well-being but also for the impact this will have on the school culture and the real risk of significant staff turnover, which will negatively impact the children.”

Among their other concerns, the parents raised the issue of what they said was overcrowding of classrooms. Under the free schools programme, the two primary schools – Canary Wharf College East Ferry; and CWC Glenworth - were approved to have class sizes of only 20, with each reaching a capacity of 280 pupils in total.

Yet they have both exceeded that in overall terms – government data states East Ferry had 317 children, as of January, while Glenworth had 315 – and in individual classes. The trust has indicated that funding pressures have left it with no option but to raise pupil: teacher ratios, which it emphasises are higher than 20 throughout the English state sector and that it is not funded by the government to have class sizes of 20. However, critical parents wonder about spending on senior staff: notes of a presentation given by the trust to parents back in March list six directors – a director of finance, a director of science, a director of teaching and learning, a director of English, a director of public relations and a director of human resources, plus Ms Taylor as chief executive – and I was told the numbers have risen since then.

A public meeting is to be held next Wednesday, at which parents will discuss the situation at the trust. 

Education Uncovered has approached the trust for comment, but at time of publication had yet to have a response.