Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Kirkintilloch High School in East Dunbartonshire are to begin a programme of industrial action over the failure of their employer to act to address poor pupil behaviour and abuse of teachers.
Members are to begin taking action short of strike action from Wednesday 5th February which will initially consist of refusing to cover classes for absent colleagues. Members will also refuse to undertake any additional voluntary duties such as extra-curricular clubs, trips or study classes which are outside of their contracted working hours.
Concerns include regular verbal abuse and swearing at teachers and some violent incidents, pupils being allowed to roam around corridors and shared spaces in the school when they should be in class, no serious consequences for poor behaviour and an overuse of ineffective restorative approaches to managing incidents of abuse.
Furthermore, neither the school nor the local authority appear to have done anything significant to embed the key points of the National Action Plan on Relationships and Behaviour announced by the Cabinet Secretary last August.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“We have been seeking to engage in negotiations with the employer for some months now, but we have not seen any evidence to date that this issue is being treated with the urgency or seriousness it deserves.
“We are calling on the employer to engage meaningfully with us as a matter of urgency to ensure that effective measures are put in place to address the behaviour problems that have been identified by our members.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:
“Members feel blamed and gaslit by management for the poor behaviour of pupils. They report being told at debriefing meetings that their lessons are 'not fun or engaging enough'.
“A culture where there are no consequences for poor behaviour is not setting up pupils well for adult life and fails the employers’ duty of care towards its staff.
“The continued failure of the employer to take the concerns of our members seriously and act on them with any urgency means we have been left with no option than to begin a campaign of industrial action.
“We will not let our members be left exposed to abuse and violence.”
Rod McCready, NASUWT National Executive Member for East Dunbartonshire, said:
“The refusal to undertake cover will help to protect members from abuse and violence because there is typically no established relationship with pupils in such classes.
“In a school where there is a culture of abuse and violence from pupils, our members are not willing at the present time to put themselves at further risk by taking such classes.”
