WINTERBOURNE International Academy teachers will again go on strike tomorrow and on Thursday after talks between unions and management staff failed to find a resolution.

More than 100 teachers are expected to walk out for a second time tomorrow morning, following the first strike on Thursday last week, in a dispute with senior management about their workload, performance management and an imposed six-week cycle of teaching and persistent testing of pupils.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) also claim they are working in a 'climate of fear' created by new chief executive principal Beverley Martin.

A statement by the NUT and NASUWT said talks on Monday (September 14) had made some progress but not enough to call off the strike.

"After further talks last light we are still unable to resolve the dispute at Winterbourne International Academy," said Wendy Exton, national executive member for NASUWT. 

"We have made progress on some points but there are key issues of disagreement that remain. These concern unlimited monitoring of teachers in varying forms, workload and performance management.

"At yesterday's talks we were given draft policies which contradicted what we thought had been agreed last week and which moved the situation backwards rather than forwards.

Everyone on the union side accepts that teachers are accountable. It can be done, either in a way that is supportive and developmental and does not impose intolerable pressure, or it can aim to 'catch the teacher out' so that teachers' confidence, health, well-being and career are undermined."

She said a 'one size fits all policy' across the 1,805-pupil Winterbourne site and its federated partners at Yate International Academy and Woodlands Primary phase were 'inappropriate and unfair'.

"We asked for a review of the structure of learning at WIA to make it workable and sustainable and to involve the wider teaching staff but this was refused," she said. "There is still the problem of a major loss of confidence amongst the teaching staff and anger about what the school's management has said and done."

The academy has finally commented on the strikes and rebutted some of the accusations made against its most senior staff.

A statement said it was 'extremely disappointed' the first strike had taken place and the academy was only made aware staff were to walk out through the media.

“Like all schools we are statutorily required to have an appraisal process that links pay progression to teacher performance,” it said. “It is this policy that the unions have highlighted as one of their concerns. The union would prefer that there are no numerical measures of accountability for teachers and that scrutiny of their work should be minimal.”

It added: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many parents, carers and members of the community for their words and actions of support at this challenging time."

The academy said since an Ofsted inspection in April which found it required improvement and a fall in GCSE results this year, it had appointed new head teachers at all three sites and Winterbourne was working towards its Ofsted action plan.

The Gazette understands Ofsted inspectors visited Winterbourne on Monday following calls from teachers to put the academy into special measures.

Furthermore, unions had reported the academy to Ofsted amid safeguarding concerns during  Thursday’s strike.

Ms Exton said Years 7, 8 and 9 students who attended school, unaware a decision to close to the lower years was made late the previous day, were left to wander the streets of Winterbourne unsupervised and other pupils in school were allowed to leave the site unchallenged.  

She said: “Children were unsupervised, many leaving un challenged and without parental permission at lunchtime, 60 were locked in a room, older students were told to supervise younger students  and some were running around unsupervised in areas closed off.

“I find this situation and the amount of risk this children were exposed to disgusting.”

The academy announced today it was closing to all Year 7 to 11 students tomorrow and Thursday. Study facilities will be available to sixth form students and the sports village will be open to all students.

Unions and academy management will again meet on Thursday (September 17) in an attempt to resolve the issues before three more days of planned strike action are due to take place next week.