Strike action forced Oxford school into partial closure

The teachers, staff and supporters of the National Education Union set up a picket line outside Oxford Spires Academy in Glanville Road today, Friday, July 3, which forced the school to close to some year groups.

It comes amid an ongoing dispute with Anthem Schools Trust, which runs Oxford Spires, over ‘restructuring, redundancies and unagreed management practices’, which the union said has left staff at the school feeling they don’t have ‘autonomy or a voice concerning working practices’.

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Staff and union representatives raised concerns over the centralisation of services to the parent Anthem Academy Trust, ‘the absence of agreed employment practices’ and a ‘lack of transparency over budget allocation and spending’.

The union said promised regular consultation meetings have not taken place and that there are concerns over a lack of commitment from the Trust not to commence any further significant restructuring or redundancies at Oxford Spires Academy.

Stuart Robertson, union joint branch secretary for Oxfordshire, said: “Union members at Oxford Spires Academy have no option but to take this industrial action, due to outstanding matters of concern that will have a real impact on them and in turn frontline services.

“We regret the inconvenience caused by strikes and hope that ongoing negotiations will lead to a speedy resolution of this avoidable dispute.”

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A picket line was set up at the school during the strike today with further days of action planned for Wednesday, July 8 and Thursday, July 9, and next month on September 9, 10 and 11, with pickets from 7.30am to 9.30am ‘as a minimum’.

Members voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action on a turnout of 65 per cent.

Oxford Spires Academy (Image: Oxford Spires Academy)

The union concedes that recent negotiations resulted in the Trust’s CEO agreeing to a road map for drafting, consulting and agreeing new policies and assurances have been given that the CFO will provide an overview of the Trust’s financial position.

But union members are requesting a fully transparent, independent review of funding and spending due to ‘disproportionately high senior management pay rises.

The union said it remains open to coming to a negotiated settlement and will hold an open online meeting to discuss the dispute with parents if it continues.

Oxford Spires Academy was partially closed due to the strike today (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for Anthem Schools Trust said: “We were very disappointed that members of the National Education Union took part in industrial action at Oxford Spires Academy on Friday, July 3.

“However, the academy remained partially open as we worked to minimise disruption for students and their families.

“The industrial action relates to the restructure of non-educational services within the trust and its academies.

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“We recognise that this represents a significant organisational change and acknowledge the concerns raised at Oxford Spires regarding local autonomy and operational effectiveness.

“We remain committed to constructive and collaborative working with the National Education Union and other trade unions.

“Our door remains open to union representatives and we are keen to continue discussions in the hope of resolving these concerns.”