On 16 January the National Education Union (NEU) announced that its ballot of teacher members in England had met the thresholds required to commence industrial action.
The NEU has announced the following dates that would impact Gateshead, were the strikes to go ahead:
Wednesday 1 February 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
Tuesday 28 February 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: Northern, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber.
Wednesday 15 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
Thursday 16 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
The indication at time of writing is that the first day of action, Wednesday 1 February 2023, will go ahead as planned. Due to the numbers of NEU members that have indicated they intend to undertake strike action, Kingsmeadow School will only be able to open for Years 11, 12 and 13 on this date.
Year 11 students will have bespoke revision sessions in Maths, English and Science to support their GCSE exams. Yr 12 and 13 will have bespoke sessions in their chosen subjects.
Years 11, 12 and 13 students are expected to attend school as normal. Canteen facilities will also be available as usual.
If your child usually has a free school meal please refer to the attached Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document which will detail this and other aspects that will need to be considered on the day, which we hope will also help with understanding the context.
Years 7, 8, 9 & 10 should not attend school on 1 February 2023 as the numbers of staff in school will not be sufficient to provide for their learning nor safely supervise the children.
We know this decision will be disappointing for families and will cause challenges for childcare, but we will attempt to work together to manage the impact in the most appropriate way possible.
Industrial action is not undertaken lightly, and decisions can alter over time even in the hours before a strike day. However, we will keep families updated whenever we have relevant information, to ensure there is clear planning to support our children.
Thank you for your continued understanding in this matter.
