Amesbury school support staff to be balloted over strike action
GMB Union member staff are unhappy over changes to working arrangements
Amesbury's secondary school could face disruption if support workers vote in favour of taking strike action.
GMB Union members at Stonehenge School are being balloted for industrial action, after they were asked to police the school playground during lunch breaks.
GMB's regional organiser, David McMullen told Greatest Hits Radio it's amid a rise in pupil misbehaviour during those periods, while children have also been vaping in the toilets and causing damage to those facilities.
He said: "Our Members, some of which have worked there for 17 years, have always had a half an hour break that allows some time to speak to their colleagues, plan work and write up reports from the lessons.
"That would be removed they would be expected to walk around the playground with a whistle stopping children from fighting and vaping."
There's a risk that the school could be forced to close for periods of time, should industrial action be taken. Mr McMullen said that is a 'last resort'.
He also claimed that senior leadership within the school had been 'aggressive' during meetings and allowed other colleagues to be rude to GMB members.
The ballot begins on Monday and last three weeks.
In a statement, Stonehenge School headteacher, Carole Dean, said:
“In order to support the growth of the school and the changes in accommodation and social spaces as part of the re-development of our site we have recently been consulting with support staff. This consultation has been focused on implementing a duty rota that supports pupils' learning, self-esteem, inclusion and behavioural development during social time.
"We are not asking staff to work longer hours, to miss lunch breaks or to do anything different to what their job description entails. No formal allegations have been made. If any are made we will always investigate.
"Throughout the process it has been our aim to work with all of our school staff to support our pupils, in order to ensure that they are placed at the heart of the improvements that we aim to achieve.
"We will continue to work with staff to explore solutions, as we have demonstrated throughout the consultation by responding to the issues raised via regular meetings with their union representatives in attendance.”