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Teachers at a school in Kent are going on strike after allegedly facing threats of violence, sexual assault and death from students. Around 80 members of staff walked out from the Oasis Academy last week, KentOnline reports, after “too many incidents of violence against staff” from students. More walkouts are scheduled this week.
It is thought to be the first such strike in England over pupil behaviour. One teacher, Lisa, said staff had been chased by up to 60 students and locked in classrooms. She also said “a mass brawl” broke out when “hordes of children” ran after another child.
In a statement to the BBC, the academy said it was committed to working with staff representatives to avoid future disruption. It comes as outgoing Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman said that student behaviour had worsened since the pandemic.
Proposals have been made to replace Oasis Academy with two new schools under a new trust.
Spielman said that the relationship between parents and schools has been fractured, resulting in increased absenteeism and poorer behaviour, she said.
Primary school class sizes in England are also the biggest in Europe, the National Education Union (NEU) says, while secondary school classes are the highest they’ve been in 40 years.
The union also says that teachers’ vacancies have increased by 50 per cent since last year and 18,565 more subject specialist teachers are needed.
Student behaviour is the latest sore spot for the education sector following a raft of strikes over pay and the crumbling concrete crisis.
