Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union will take further strike action at Llangors Church in Wales Primary School on 23rd, 24th and 25th April over concerns with management, governance, working conditions and redundancy. Strikes already took place on 10th, 17th and 18th April.
Despite numerous attempts by NASUWT to solve the dispute, there has been no further engagement from school leadership or Powys County Council.
NASUWT is especially concerned that the school continues to issue misleading communications to parents. Contrary to recent communications, the redundancy process at the school has not been paused; it has merely been delayed by eight days. A redundancy announcement is now expected on 24th April.
The proposed redundancy at Llangors CiW Primary will likely result in six separate year groups being amalgamated into five larger mixed age year groups, which presents a number of disadvantages to both teachers and pupils. Parents have shared their dismay over this arrangement on social media, with over 600 signing a petition to halt the redundancy process.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“It is extremely troubling that leaders at Llangors CiW Primary School and Powys County Council continue to ignore the urgent concerns of NASUWT members.
“No teacher should be forced to leave the school they love. The dedicated members at Llangors have spent many years developing strong relationships with the pupils and local community, and they deserve to be treated with empathy and respect. Instead, one of them will be made redundant this week and the school will lose a beloved teacher. It should never have come to this.
“We are asking, once again, for Powys County Council to get around the table with us and find a solution that works in the best interests of the teachers and pupils at Llangors.”
Neil Butler, National Official for Wales, said:
“We are proud of members taking further strike action at Llangors CiW Primary School. They care too much about the school to tolerate its mismanagement any longer, and they are standing up for what is right.
“We will continue to fight against the farcical redundancy process. We are in the midst of a teacher recruitment and retention crisis – it is absurd to think that a skilled teacher at Llangors may soon be out of a job just because the school was unable to manage its finances effectively.
“There is still time to end this chaos. If leaders at the school and Powys County Council care about teachers and pupils at Llangors, they will meet with us as soon as possible to find a way forward.”
