Latest news with #OGAT
BBC News
03-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Teachers to continue strikes over longer school day
Strikes by teachers at seven schools in Yorkshire in a row over a proposed longer school day are to continue, a union has walkouts at schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) in Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Easingwold, plus two in Wakefield and one in Hemsworth, would be held on 10 days in July, the National Education Union (NEU) began at OGAT sites across the UK last month after the trust said it wanted a school day lasting 30 minutes longer, but the union said OGAT showed a lack of "understanding of the day-to-day pressures" its members said it was "deeply disappointed" the NEU had rejected its proposals "to resolve the dispute". Schools in Redcar, Wigan, Scunthorpe, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are also affected by the ongoing disruption. Nick Raine, from the NEU, said its members at OGAT-run sites had "not taken industrial action lightly"."They have continued to support children with additional classes for exam revision," he said."While no teacher wants to take strike action, any move that leads to an increase in teacher workload is clearly unacceptable. "NEU members have no choice but to take action as the trust simply will not listen."Separately, the NASUWT teaching union said it had suspended some planned industrial action over the plans at the schools in Easingwold, Scunthorpe, Barnsley and Hemsworth, meaning its members would work at those sites as normal. However, further strike action by its members was still scheduled to take place over the next two weeks, it said. In a statement, OGAT said it was "deeply disappointed" the NEU had turned down its proposals to solve the dispute.A spokesperson said: "Resolving the significant disruption to children's education remains our highest priority. "We've therefore consistently prioritised meetings and discussions, and have offered a number of solutions and refined proposals to our union colleagues. "While NASUWT has been amenable to them, unfortunately the NEU has not been as positive and we have been unable to make the same progress as a result."Andy Wroe, whose son attends Outwood Academy in Sheffield, told the BBC the situation was "not good enough"."The kids' education is suffering, their friendship groups are suffering, and I don't feel it's fair," he said."As a parent, we just want the right thing for the kids. I don't mind the teachers protesting - they've a right to do so - but we need to find a resolution because the kids are suffering."They just need to talk and realise there are a lot of children in the middle who are nervous, disrupted and worried."Further talks between the union and academy bosses are due to take place next week, with mediators from the Acas arbitration service involved. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Strike action at Scunthorpe school over plans to extend day
Staff at a school in North Lincolnshire are set to take part in strike action in protest at an academy trust's plans to extend the day for students and teachers by half an NASUWT teaching union said teachers at a number of schools run by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), including Foxhills in Scunthorpe, were taking part in six days of action, with the first on union said the proposed changes would affect teachers' working hours, workload and the welfare of staff and academy trust said it was "exceptionally disappointed" that "our union partners" had decided to take industrial action. According to the union, OGAT schools currently finish at 14:30 BST, with the trust proposing a later finish to comply with the Department for Education's advised 32.5-hour Matt Wrack, the union's acting general secretary, said the proposals should instead focus on lengthening a 30-minute lunch break to provide adequate time for pupils to queue for and eat their lunch, use the toilets and have a break before resuming lessons."The current lunch break is so short that some pupils are not eating or using the toilets, which has a detrimental impact on their health, welfare and ability to focus on learning," Mr Wrack said. Kath Oliver, the union's national executive member for Foxhills, added: "Staff at Foxhills frequently report that they are unable to take a break at all during the school day."The union is calling for OGAT to agree to resume academy trust said it remained open to "constructive dialogue"."The small change we have proposed will mean students can learn more and achieve even stronger outcomes, and will still mean the school day is within the time as set out in the government's school teachers' pay and conditions document," a spokesperson said."We also want to make sure our students are prioritised and provided with the best possible education."Strike action is planned for 3, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 19 June at the school in Scunthorpe. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Redcar teachers to strike over longer school hours
Teachers at a chain of schools are set to go on strike in protest at plans to extend the school day. The National Education Union (NEU) said teachers at Outwood Grange Academy School in Redcar, alongside 14 other schools belonging to the trust across the country, will take industrial action. NEU regional secretary Beth Farhat claimed teachers had been forced into this position by an employer that "simply will not listen".Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) said it was "exceptionally disappointed" in the union's decision to strike. "We remain open to constructive dialogue," a spokesperson said. NEU said teachers would strike on 3 June, 10-11 June and 17-19 follows OGAT's decision extend the school by 30 minutes, it said. Ms Farhat said the changes were "deeply unpopular" and the trust's teachers already had a "huge workload" which was affecting staff retention. "We believe that by pushing ahead with these changes and ignoring their staff, OGAT will make matters even worse," she advised the trust to "listen to their staff" and negotiate with the union for the "sake of staff and pupils". 'Workload neutral' OGAT said it was increasing the length of the school day because it currently did not meet government's 32.5 hour-a-week minimum said its school day currently ended at 14:30 BST. "The small change we have proposed will mean students can learn more and achieve even stronger outcomes," a spokesperson said. They said they had also made a commitment to meet regularly with trade unions to "identify any unnecessary workload" so that the new school week was "workload neutral" for teachers. It said it was particularly disappointed that the union had chosen days when students were due to take "important exams". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teaching union to ballot staff on strike action
Staff at three schools in Scunthorpe will be balloted on industrial action unless the trust that runs them withdraws plans for a longer teaching day, a union said. The NASUWT teaching union said members at 28 of the 41 schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) faced an extra half hour of teaching from September meaning less time to prepare lessons. The trust said no teacher would have to work more than their contracted hours and they were disappointed with the union's stance. OGAT runs two secondary schools in Scunthorpe; Outwood Academy Foxhills and Outwood Academy Brumby, along with primary school Outwood Junior Academy Brumby. A spokesperson for OGAT said they had ensured that their proposals to increase teaching time spent with students would not require staff to work beyond their contracted hours. "Our secondary school day currently ends at 2.30pm, which we have to recognise, currently falls short of the Government's 32.5-hour-a-week minimum expectation," the spokesperson explained. The trust said they were still consulting with staff and were "disappointed that union partners are balloting for industrial action before the consultation ends." Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: "We have made it clear to OGAT that its plans to substantially increase teacher contact time amounts to one of the worst attacks on teachers' terms and conditions that risks moving OGAT from being a relatively successful trust to one that will experience significant employee turnover and industrial relations problems. " Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Teachers working 12-hour days, leaked report says 'Teaching here is a lot harder' - Canadian expat Outwood Grange Academies Trust
BBC News
15-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Scunthorpe: Teaching union to ballot staff for strike action
Staff at three schools in Scunthorpe will be balloted on industrial action unless the trust that runs them withdraws plans for a longer teaching day, a union NASUWT teaching union said members at 28 of the 41 schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) faced an extra half hour of teaching from September meaning less time to prepare trust said no teacher would have to work more than their contracted hours and they were disappointed with the union's runs two secondary schools in Scunthorpe; Outwood Academy Foxhills and Outwood Academy Brumby, along with primary school Outwood Junior Academy Brumby. A spokesperson for OGAT said they had ensured that their proposals to increase teaching time spent with students would not require staff to work beyond their contracted hours."Our secondary school day currently ends at 2.30pm, which we have to recognise, currently falls short of the Government's 32.5-hour-a-week minimum expectation," the spokesperson trust said they were still consulting with staff and were "disappointed that union partners are balloting for industrial action before the consultation ends."Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:"We have made it clear to OGAT that its plans to substantially increase teacher contact time amounts to one of the worst attacks on teachers' terms and conditions that risks moving OGAT from being a relatively successful trust to one that will experience significant employee turnover and industrial relations problems. "Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
