Industrial Action – Thursday 2nd March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers

As you will be aware, members of the National Education Union have voted for industrial action which will impact Hanham Woods Academy. Four days of industrial action have been planned – the result of a pay dispute between union members and government. The second of four strike days is scheduled for Thursday 2nd March, and provisionally 15th and 16th March 2023. 

As per the previous strike day, this will result in disruption to our Academy, and most scheduled lessons will be unable to go ahead. As ever, student wellbeing remains our priority, and careful risk assessments have been carried out to assess which lessons and activities can safely continue. Our plan for Thursday 2nd March is as follows: 

Years 7, 8, 9 and 10: 

Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 students will need to remain at home on Thursday 2nd March and access work set through Show My Homework (Satchel). Students who are entitled to Free School Meals will be able to collect a packed lunch at the end of the Academy Day on Wednesday 1st March that can be taken home for Thursday 2nd March. A separate text message will be sent shortly to request your child’s lunch option. 

On-site places will be offered to children and families where the students would benefit from being within the Academy. We will directly contact the parents/carers of these students in Years 7-10 who would benefit from attending on Thursday, in the next few days.  

Due to available staff onsite, we can offer a rehearsal for the Academy Production. If your child is involved in the Academy production, they will be able to attend the Academy on this day for a full day of rehearsals. They are expected to arrive at the normal time and make their way to the Main Hall at 08:30. If you have any queries regarding this please do contact Mrs Hurrell [[email protected]] 

Year 8 Vaccinations: 

Year 8 students who were due to have their HPV vaccination will be able to come onsite for their vaccination and then return home to continue with their online learning. A separate communication will go out to those affected with a scheduled time for attending the Academy to receive the vaccination. 

Year 11: 

PPE exams will continue as normal on this day; therefore, we expect all Year 11 students to attend the Academy as normal. The following PPEs will be running: 

• Maths Paper 3 (Calculator) – all students (in the morning) 
• History Paper 3 – option students (in the afternoon) 

There will be a full programme of sessions for all Year 11 students following the Maths PPE and students will be expected to stay onsite as per a normal Academy Day.  

Resource Base: 

This provision will be open as normal. If your child normally attends the Resource Base we expect them to be in the Academy on Thursday 2nd March. If you have any queries regarding this, please contact Mrs McDermott [[email protected]] or Ms Gifford [[email protected]]. 

Any student attending the Academy on Thursday 2nd March (as per the guidance above) will need to be in full Academy uniform and arrive at the normal time (by 08:30am). The Academy Day will finish as normal at 15:00. No enrichment activities will be available on this day. 

If your child is due onsite on Thursday 2nd March, please complete this short survey by Monday 27th February, to help our catering team plan for the amount of food required: https://forms.office.com/e/J2SSSUxcer  

In summary… 

All students are expected back in the Academy as normal on Friday 3rd March. 

Please note these arrangements may need to change ahead of subsequent strike dates. However, we will continue to work closely with our staff union representatives to keep up-to-date with the situation, and I will inform you of our plans for those days as soon as possible. 

I am sure we all hope for a swift resolution to this dispute which will satisfy all parties. Until then, we recognise and respect the right of colleagues to take part in industrial action and ask that all members of our community continue to treat each other with respect. And while I understand this situation may be frustrating, your continued support for our Academy at this time is appreciated.  

 I do hope this has answered your questions and will allow you to plan ahead for any disruption. However, should you have any further questions, do please contact the Academy through the usual channels. I will write to you again early next week to explain arrangements for online learning.

Dream BIG // Work Hard // Be Kind

Mr S O’Callaghan | Academy Principal