St Ivo Academy: Teachers at Cambridgeshire school to strike over rules which make pupils 'live in fear'

Teachers at a secondary school in Cambridgeshire are taking strike action over "draconian" behaviour rules which leave some students "living in fear".

The NASUWT union said that staff at St Ivo Academy in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, are being told to "enforce questionable rules which undermine their authority" in the classroom. These include, according to a union source, giving pupils detention for not having a pen, "not allowing pupils to go to the toilet", and ensuring "silence at all times in the corridors and classrooms unless [a pupil] has been given permission to speak."

The Astrea Academy Trust, which St Ivo is part of, said it was "disappointed" that the action was going ahead - but assured parents it would "do everything [it] can" to limit disruption to students and would stay open on all five strike days, which start from Wednesday (1 November).

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “No school behaviour policy can operate effectively without the support of teachers and staff who are expected to apply it. Policies must encourage positive behaviour and not detract from effective teaching and learning.

"But members at St Ivo's Academy feel that the draconian nature of Astrea Academy Trust's behaviour policies limit their ability to teach. We once again ask Astrea to review its behaviour policies and discontinue the imposition of procedures that are damaging and unworkable."

It comes after a parents' forum at the school, made up of around 350 parents, previously wrote to leaders to accuse them of introducing "strict disciplinarian methods" and a "punishment-focused behavioural management system". They said that these rules and the manner of enforcing them was leaving some students "literally living in fear", and was "inappropriate" for a generation "recovering from the trauma of a national pandemic."

The NASUWT said there was "some initial progress" in talks following this, but that communication broke down after Astrea imposed more new policies, including ones directed at teachers. These include "no-notice observations" designed to monitor teachers' performances, which the union said were having a "detrimental" impact on members.

According to Mark Burns, NASUWT national executive member for Cambridgeshire, teachers at St Ivo were "left with no alternative but to move to strike action."

A spokesperson for the Astrea Academy Trust said: "Obviously it's disappointing news that the strike action is going ahead. We believed there were three remaining issues of contention, covering staff development, a dress code for staff, and limiting the number of after school meetings to one per week.

"Last Friday, we agreed to further consultation and engagement on the three outstanding areas raised by the unions. Our doors remain open for further discussion. In the meantime, St Ivo will open as normal on strike days and we will do everything we can to ensure our students experience as little disruption as possible."

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) at the school will not be striking, but the union has sent a letter of support to the NASUWT.