Villiers High School staff in Southall strike over pay, workload and management
National Education Union members at the Boyd Avenue school have planned six days of walkouts this term. The school disputes the union's account of the talks and says it has offered to meet union representatives.
Video: @ealingneu
Teachers and support staff at Villiers High School in Southall have gone on strike in a dispute over pay, workload and the way the school is run.
The walkouts were organised by members of the National Education Union (NEU). The first strike day was Tuesday 13 October, the first of six planned days of action. Formal notice of the dates was given to the school on 2 October.
The NEU said 55 staff took part in the first walkout. The school put the number of teachers on strike at 36, out of a staff of about 150.
Picket at the school gates
Footage shared with UB1UB2 shows a speaker addressing a picket line outside the school gates on Boyd Avenue. Ealing and Brent NEU banners are on display, and placards refer to planning time.
In the footage the speaker calls management's refusal to meet the union "an anti-union move". Passing drivers can be heard sounding their horns in support.
Ealing NEU has accused the school's leadership of trying to break the union instead of holding meaningful talks. It says it still wants to reach a resolution. The union has also raised concerns with Ealing Council about the school's finances and about how asbestos has been managed at the school in the past.
What the school says
Villiers High School disputes the union's account of the talks. It says senior managers and governors offered several times to meet NEU representatives before the strike ballot, but the offers were not taken up.
The school says it stayed open for most of its students during the industrial action. Ealing Council said it was sorry that the strike was going ahead and confirmed the school remained open to students.
The school said its financial reserves had been set aside by Ealing Council to help pay for a £29.3 million redevelopment, including a new teaching block. It strongly rejected the asbestos concerns, calling the union's claims baseless. It added that the NEU's own health and safety representative had praised the school's procedures.
Further strike dates
The union announced further strike days on 21 and 22 October and on 3, 4 and 5 November. The final three dates fall this week.
Parents and carers should check messages from the school about arrangements on strike days, including which year groups are expected in.
Villiers High School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11 to 18, run under Ealing Council as the local authority. It has about 1,445 pupils. It was founded in 1907 and will mark its 120th anniversary next year.