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Dear parents/ carers,
As you will probably be aware, next Wednesday 1st February has been identified by the National Education Union (NEU) as the first day of industrial action in their pay and funding campaign.
Members of the NEU are not obliged to let us know in advance of their intentions, but our staff have been co-operative and kind enough to offer this information so that you know what our situation is and that if needed, you can make alternative arrangements for childcare for the day.
The class so far where the teacher has given advance notice of strike action is:
Year 2, Class 7
Mrs Iveson will teach the class as normal on Wednesday morning and the children will have their lunch in school.
The teacher who is normally in class 7 on Wednesday afternoon will be taking strike action therefore the class will close at 1:15pm.
Please collect children from the classroom at 1:15pm.
All remaining classes will be open as normal on Wednesday 1st February.
Staff appreciate the inconvenience the action will cause and for that send their apologies. We would like to assure our school community that this is not a decision our teachers have taken lightly.
Thank you.
LATEST UPDATES
STRIKES
You may be aware from media coverage that the NEU teacher union have declared strike action which will take place in our area on 1st February, 28th February, 15th March and 16th March.
The strike is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government over teachers pay and funding.
We do have a number of teachers in the NEU but are unsure of how many plan to take strike action. (Teachers are not obliged to disclose whether or not they intend to take strike action).
Unfortunately, strikes are intended to be disruptive and we may be left with no choice but to close some classes on the strike days. Please also note that teachers from other unions have now been advised not to cover colleagues.
We will keep you updated as soon as we possibly can on this situation.
GOVERNORS
We would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of staff, pupils and parents to Bev Riley. Bev has done an amazing job being our Chair of Governors for many years and has recently taken the difficult decision to hand over the role to someone else. She remains a governor of the school.
We would like to welcome Laura Hebblethwaite as our new Chair of Governors.
I am delighted to introduce myself as Chair of governors at South Parade Primary school. I am excited to be working with such a professional team of staff and governors. As Chair I will strive to support the school in delivering the best educational standards so that children can thrive, achieve and be the best they can be.
Both my children started their educational journey in nursery, although one is now in high school, my youngest still attends South Parade. I have worked in education for nearly 10 years and have extensive knowledge in early years and SEND.
I am inspired to work with such a devoted team who work hard to share their expertise in helping to guide our school forward.
Laura Hebblethwaite
We also would like to thank Tony Bowering, our Vice Chair of Governors, who has made the decision to resign after many years. As well as supporting us as a governor, Tony has also been a volunteer in school. Although he will no longer be on the governing body he will still be involved in school as an experienced volunteer.
A new Vice Chair of governors will be appointed at the next meeting.
MENTAL HEALTH WEEK
We will be having a whole school mental health week beginning on 6th February. The end of the week are asking all the children to 'Dress to Express'. They can wear whatever they wish to reflect their personality.
BEHAVIOUR POLICY
We are making some changes to our behaviour policy. We will send you all the information around this soon.
PARENTS EVENING
We will be offering parents evening appointments on Tuesday 14th March. To allow time for these appointments, school will close at 2.00pm, however we will offer for children to stay in the hall to be collected at 3.20pm if they are unable to be collected at 2.00pm. Your child's class teacher will send out slots for you to sign up to. The parents evening will finish at 7.00pm.
Thank you.