NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union is taking the first of eleven planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) at Byron Court Primary School in Wembley over plans to force the school to become an academy.

Removing the school from local authority control threatens teachers’ jobs and their terms and conditions. Parents as well as school staff oppose the forcible academisation of the school, which follows an Ofsted inspection late last year and the triggering of an automatic academy order by the Department for Education.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:

“The decision to impose an academy order ignores the significant progress being made at the school since the last inspection and we believe there should be a delay in transferring the school to a multi-academy trust in order for these improvements to be fully implemented and for the school to be re-inspected.

“Given the strength of opposition, it is only right and proper that Byron Court is given the chance to remain a community school.”

Ruth Duncan, NASUWT National Executive Member for North West London, said:

“If the school is transferred to a multi-academy trust there are no guarantees about the future for teachers’ jobs or their terms and conditions.

“If experienced and dedicated teaching staff are lost as part of a takeover, this threatens to undermine all of the progress the school has been making, in collaboration with Brent Council, to make improvements at the school.

“Simply imposing an academy order without taking into consideration the views of the local community or staff will not help to raise standards or improve the quality of education provided to children at the school.”