Strike action due to take place a Hoxton primary school this morning has been postponed.

Staff at Whitmore Primary School in Bridport Place were set to walk out today and tomorrow (April 5 and 6) in a dispute over long hours and excessive workloads they say a new headteacher has forced on to them.

The school’s leadership team says ‘drastic measures’ are needed to turn things around at Whitmore, which inspectors have deemed to be making inadequate progress.

The action would have followed previous strikes at the end of March.

But it has been put off after executive headteacher Greg Wallace agreed to negotiate an agreement, according to the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Mark Lushington, Hackney’s NUT representative, said: “We’re not there yet but in the interests of trying to reach a negotiated settlement we have postponed the strike action.”

A spokeswoman for the school said: “We are pleased that the union recognise that strike action is not in the best interests of our pupils. We’ve always said that we wanted to work together to find a solution to ensure our children get the best education.

“We’ve amended the work-life balance document to make sure that we can bring about the changes that are desperately needed at Whitmore.

“We are looking forward to introducing the teaching methods that have seen such fantastic transformations at other Hackney schools not least at London Fields which has gone from special measures to outstanding.”