Teachers at Rochdale faculty strike over ‘violent and abusive’ pupils after workers have been ‘locked in rooms’ and ‘had tables thrown at them’

Teachers at a school in Rochdale are striking over ‘violent and abusive’ pupils after staff were ‘locked in rooms’ and had ‘tables thrown at them’.

Members of Teacher’s Union NASUWT at St Cuthbert’s RC High School in Rochdale and Lily Lane Primary School in Manchester walked out on February 24 over claims of ‘untenable levels’ of violence.

Staff at the high school reported ‘extremely volatile’ behaviour from pupils, with drama teacher Louise Maloney adding violence had reached ‘unprecedented’ levels.

She told the BBC she had been ‘locked in the room by students’, whilst other staff members have been ‘elbowed in the chest, kicked’ and had ‘chairs and tables thrown at them’.

‘Anything outside your own classroom where you’re not in control is extremely volatile and staff and students are worried about stepping into communal spaces at any time,’ she added.

Dom Ayres, a PE teacher at St Cuthbert’s, said the school is ‘not safe for pupils or staff’, claiming teachers have been injured when trying to break up fights between pupils, including himself recently. 

Mr Ayres alleged he was ‘bundled to ground’ by students three weeks ago, resulting in an injury to his lower back.

He described the violence he has seen as ‘shocking’ and created an environment that is ‘not nice’ to work in, resulting in some staff leaving to ‘reduce stress levels’.

A teacher at Lily Lane Primary School said they have been ‘hurt numerous times’ but claimed ‘no one has ever checked in on’ her.

Another claimed her students are ‘frightened’ to leave the classroom due to the ‘issues that are going on’. 

One parents alleged there had been an incident in which a student had picked up a knife from the dinner hall and ran after another child with it. 

Jac Casson from NASUWT said violence at the primary school, which also has a nursery, was being seen across all age groups – from nursery age up to year six.

She said it ‘anything and everything’ from punching, kicking, pinching, spitting and biting, to throwing things, trashing classrooms and running out of lessons.

Ms Casson said well-behaved students are being ‘traumatised’ by the behaviour of their peers, leaving them ‘frightened’ to attend school and ‘hiding’ behind teachers and support staff.

The Changing Lives in Collaboration (CLiC) Trust that runs Lily Lane has said: ‘Only together can all parties deliver what is right and in the best interests of the school.

‘The safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff is of the very highest priority to us.

‘We also support our schools to ensure the needs of all pupils are met, including those with special educational needs’.

The strike action at both schools began on February 24 and was planned to end today at the high school, but the union today announced they plan to take further action on March 17-19, March 24-26, March 31 – April.

Meanwhile, strikes at the primary school are expected to continue until March 19. 

Drama teacher Ms Maloney said she and her colleagues are ‘heartbroken’ over having to strike but feel they have no other choice.

They blame the rise in student-on-teacher violence on budget cuts by the St Teresa of Calcutta Academy Trust, claiming the two are directly linked.

Ms Maloney said they had given the trust ‘ample opportunities in the last two to three years to make the right choice and changes’, however she claims they have ‘failed’ to make those changes.

In a statement given earlier, the St Teresa of Calcutta Academy Trust said: ‘Leaders have sought to resolve potential concerns around safety whilst also driving improvement.

‘We respect the right of union members to act where they believe it to be necessary though do feel more could have been achieved through dialogue.’

Headteacher Emma Keenan said: ‘I fully understand the disruption this is causing to families and appreciate this is less than ideal.’

She added that ‘productive and collaborative’ talks had taken place with the union, and told parents: ‘Please know that we are doing all we can to minimise the disruption this is causing to your child’.

The St Teresa of Calcutta trust, which runs the school, has told the M.E.N they ‘remain committed to negotiating and working in partnership over the coming days to avert this potential action.’

However a number of parents of pupils who are approaching their GCSE exams have now spoken out about the impact the disruption has had, and could continue to have, on the children’s learning.

During the action Year 11 pupils have been asked to come into school to sit their mock exams and continue their studies.

However Alison Wild, 37, from Kirkholt, whose daughter Alicia Howarth, 15, is in Year 11 at the school, claimed that students were repeatedly being placed in the school canteen and told to do their own revision.

She said the setup was ‘disruptive’ for many kids and ‘not conducive to effective study’ and that as a result she had this week taken the decision to take her daughter out of school on the strike days so she could ‘concentrate on her studies.’

She said she also planned to pay for a private tutor to help her catch up on lessons she has missed.

Fellow mother Michelle Kershaw, whose daughter is also in Year 11, said: ‘While I fully appreciate that staff concerns must be taken seriously, the current situation is having a profound impact on pupils who are preparing for their GCSE examinations.

‘The strike action has already been ongoing for three weeks following the last half term, with further strike days planned to continue until early April, immediately before the Easter break.

‘This means that pupils in Year 11 are facing a prolonged period of disruption at one of the most critical stages of their education. My daughter is currently in Year 11 and should be receiving consistent, structured teaching and support in the run-up to her GCSEs.

‘Instead, she and many of her peers are frequently expected to work independently or effectively “self-teach” without proper instruction or guidance from subject specialists.

‘There have been occasions where pupils have been placed together in the school canteen in large numbers and expected to work from worksheets with minimal support.’

Rachel Knight, NASUWT National Executive Member for Greater Manchester, said: ‘We have been raising serious concerns with the Trust for 18 months. Strike action was entirely avoidable, had they taken action to address the concerns. The possibility of strike action was raised formally on 11th December and there was no response from the Trust until early February.

‘The Trust has now chosen, through its communications with parents, to use partial information in an attempt to undermine and discredit our members, rather than take swift and meaningful action to enable us to suspend strike action and send our members and their students back into a safe and calm school.

‘We have received supportive messages from parents, who can see through this, and support our members in fighting for a safe school for all. The responsibility for any further disruption to pupils’ education rests with the Trust and its failure to implement actions to make the school safe. They have been in receipt of detailed proposals for almost two weeks, which, had they been acted upon quickly, would have avoided further action.

‘We call upon the Trust to focus on resolution, rather than continued inaccurate communications to attack our members.’

It comes just days after staff at a school where a teacher was stabbed have gone on strike in a row over ‘racist and misogynistic’ abuse from ‘gangs’ of male students.

Teachers at Tewkesbury Academy near Gloucester walked out following claims they have faced threats of violence, derogatory language and verbal abuse from a handful of students.

A National Education Union (NEU) representative claimed staff members felt ‘really scared’ and believe the situation at the school has become ‘out of control’.

In 2023, a teacher at Tewkesbury was stabbed by a 15-year-old pupil with a six-inch knife, triggering a huge armed police response.

The incident saw the school go into lockdown for four hours as teachers barricaded their classrooms and pupils were forced to hide in cupboards.

Staff fear such an incident could happen again if senior management at the school, which is run by the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), fail to address their concerns about pupil behaviour.

Teachers previously took part in strike action last month after talks broke down, with the NEU claiming head teacher Kathleen McGillycuddy bullied and intimidated staff and called those on strike ‘weirdos’.

Responding to the claims, the CLF said: ‘We do not recognise this description of Tewkesbury Academy as an accurate portrayal of life within our school.’

The federation added that negotiations with the unions ‘remain live’ and it is ‘hopeful that the dispute can now end’.

A teacher from Tewkesbury Academy said: ‘There’s an issue with a very vocal minority. Students who the rules don’t seem the apply to.

‘They are doing that [behaviour] because they are not getting the support they deserve and it’s impacting the other students. Fundamentally it comes down to staffing levels. Staff have left and not been replaced.

‘There’s the feeling that the behavioural system is not being applied consistently. So students being disruptive are not being supported by senior management.

‘There is the feeling that people – staff – are being bullied and intimidated at the school. People have lost trust and faith in the system and given up on raising formal grievances.’

A pupil at the school said their learning has been disrupted by the other pupils, and said they witnessed their classmates make ‘Nazi jokes’, as well as seeing female teachers being subjected to misogyny by ‘gangs’ of male students.

In a statement shared online, the student described shocking’ abusive language, saying they have been ‘affected personally by the lack of behaviour policies’.

Tewkesbury Academy said it was not aware of the incident and added it has clear processes for managing such concerns, adding that all parties have previously spoken out against such misinformation.

A spokesperson for Tewkesbury Academy said: ‘We do not recognise these descriptions of Tewkesbury Academy as an accurate portrayal of life within the school. Misinformation of this type has been circulated throughout this dispute, and it is deeply saddening to see dedicated school leaders targeted in this way.

‘While we recognise there is, and will always be, work to do to ensure behaviour consistently meets our high expectations, we have already put in place a number of new measures. This includes significant investment in our Reset hub, where students with higher needs can learn in a dedicated space, reducing disruption in other classrooms.

‘Negotiations with the unions remain live. We have been in regular dialogue with representatives of both unions and have made tangible offers in response to all asks. We remain hopeful of an imminent resolution which will enable focus to return to developing Tewkesbury Academy as a safe, happy, and high-performing school where teachers can excel and all students are supported to achieve their full potential.’

An NEU spokesperson said: ‘Despite some constructive talks and a reasonable partial offer, management continues to be disparaging about both unions and our members.

‘This has undermined the positive steps reached this week. As a result of this our members do not feel they can trust CLF to keep them safe in school.

‘If CLF are serious about ending this dispute, we strongly urge them to put an end to inflammatory communications being sent to the press, parents and wider community.’