Teachers at this Stockport high school are being attacked - 'they should be able to feel safe'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Teachers at a Stockport high school say they're being verbally and physically assaulted by pupils. Amid growing concerns about the behaviour of students at Werneth School, strike action is being planned by members of the teachers' union NASUWT.

Staff say that recent changes to working practices at the school have led to 'a breakdown of behaviour management systems' and 'an increase in disruptive and violent behaviour from pupils which is not being addressed effectively by trust leadership'.

Four days of action was due to begin on Thursday (December 12) but was called off at the 11th hour after the employer, the Education Learning Trust (ELT), 'engaged in positive talks' with union leaders.

Three further days of strike action are scheduled for next week, from December 17 to 19, but whether they go ahead depends on the outcome of the talks. Read more: The best performing schools in Greater Manchester Jac Casson, NASUWT national executive member for Stockport, said: “The management of pupil behaviour systems have broken down which has resulted in an unacceptable increase in low level disruption and defiance from students.