Stoke Newington school staff vote for strike action

Teachers at Benthal School in Stoke Newington school have voted to take two days strike action next week, claiming the school’s management team are behaving unreasonably.

Staff at the school in Benthal Road say the recently appointed team has taken a ‘heavy handed’ approach and is ignoring staff input, instead of building on the school’s “rich tradition of excellent teaching”.

The school, which received a “good” Ofsted judgement last year, has seen three different head teachers in the past year.

Branch Secretary of Hackney National Union of Teachers, Dave Davies, said teachers are open to resolving the issue, and would like to see a “more co-operative less oppressive approach.”

“We would like to build on past achievements to move forward together, without a sense of crisis and insecurity being created unnecessarily,” he said.

“Pupils learn best in a supportive environment. This is best achieved by adopting a collegiate approach, that respects the professionalism of staff and treats them with respect.”

A further four days of strike action will be spread over a further two weeks if no compromise is reached.

Hackney Council did not wish to comment.