Lewisham: Prendergast teachers defend academy strike action

Staff at Lewisham’s Prendergast schools say bosses have used school communications to portray them as “brainless” and self-interested.

The schools bashed the National Education Union (NEU) in letters to parents, after its members went on strike over the planned academisation.

Three teachers told the News Shopper they are sick of the schools using their “monopoly on communication” to lobby parents.

“I want our side to come out, because we have been silenced,” said Pauline*.

“They can put out whatever they want, to turn the parents against us, and we have no comeback.”

Conservative schools minister Nick Gibb told the NEU in a letter that teachers were putting their ideology above the life chances of hundreds of children (Image: HM Govt)

“Shocking”

School letters blamed the strikes on “ideology” and “political activism”.

The allegation has been echoed by a governor on social media and by a government minister.

But long-serving employee Barry* said such accusations portrayed teachers as “brainless”.

“They’ve treated us like mugs that don’t understand,” he said.

“They keep talking about outside forces and staff just being blindly led by the NEU. But as we keep responding: we are the NEU.”

He denied any “ideological” opposition.

“We’ve got staff who’ve worked at academies and joined us specifically because we’re not an academy,” he said. “They tell us how awful things were.

“They didn’t get pay rises for years, while people at the top were handsomely rewarded. Teachers were told they couldn’t go home. People were burnt out after two years.

“One said when Ofsted came in, her academy cleared out all the real teachers and got in other teachers just for the inspection.”

The NEU says 99% of its teacher members at the Prendergast schools voted against academisation in a union ballot (Image: Lewisham NEU)

“Terrible”

Pauline left her last school after it academised.

“It became more pressured,” she recalled. “They brought in a culture of naming, shaming and humiliation.”

She is now job-hunting again.

“I thought I was going to retire at Prendergast,” she said. “I love that school. But now I’m looking to leave.”

The atmosphere has become “terrible”, she said.

“We are being belittled and vilified. It’s disgusting. It’s like a big dirty tricks campaign.”

The dispute has “devastated” staff,” she said.

“People spend a lot of time either angry or in tears. It’s just horrific. And it was such a happy place. Like an oasis of education. Everyone got on well. But now that’s fallen apart… There’s just no trust left.”

“The way they went about it felt like a bit of a backstab,” agreed Sally*. “We were like a family, but now our voices don’t matter. I feel betrayed.”

Since the plan was unveiled in February, it has emerged that governors were discussing it for years.

Sally always felt listened to by senior staff, but now “it feels like a barrier has come down. The communication has broken down.

“The feeling of the school has already started to change. There’s an awkwardness. The atmosphere is tense.”

The Prendergast schools' own consultation found 64% of respondents opposed academisation, compared to just 6% in favour - but governors voted to academise anyway (Image: Prendergast NEU Reps)

“Devastated”

Sally’s “heart sank” at union-bashing letters home.

“We were being portrayed as only after our own interests,” she said.

But academisation reduces local authority oversight. Disadvantaged pupils generally have worse outcomes in academies.

A spokesperson for the schools claimed that in converter academies, disadvantaged pupils have better outcomes than in state schools.

“We know it can go badly,” said Sally. “It’s not ideology. It’s information. Why risk what we have?

“They keep talking about the potential for growth. These are business words, not education words. Teachers don’t care about growth. We care about our children and community.”

“Some parents thought this was a pay strike until I spoke to them last week,” said Barry.

“The ones that talk to us on the picket line are right behind us. We’ve only had a couple of negative parents.”

“It’s a position we shouldn’t be in,” said Sally. “But unfortunately, striking is all we have left.

“We tried answering the consultation, writing letters, marching at the weekends. Nothing worked.”

“Why are they doing this to something that wasn’t broken?” asked Pauline. “It was working perfectly well.”

Governors say the Prendergast schools' current governance model - one board running all three schools - is 'unsustainable' and could ultimately result in the schools being forced to join a large multi-academy trust (MAT) (Image: Prendergast NEU Reps)

Governors

School leaders have defended their letters home as “factual” and “accurate”.

Governors claim the main reason for academising is so each school can have its own governors.

They have publicly guaranteed no changes to staff pay and conditions, but they and staff disagree over whether those guarantees are legally binding.

Chair of governors Andy Rothery said having one board running three schools was “unsustainable” and could result in bad Ofsted ratings, potentially forcing the schools to join a large academy trust, which would be “the worst possible outcome”.

He said the best way to avoid that was to form their own academy trust.

The schools said their consultation was to “seek views” to ensure a “fully informed decision”.

“It was not a public vote,” a spokesperson said.

*Teachers’ names have been changed.