Strike at Abergavenny King Henry School parents react

School staff who teach children with additional learning needs have returned to work despite ongoing industrial action. 

Teachers are striking over two days this week following a one day walk out last week, with three further days of strike action planned before the Easter holidays which will close King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny on consecutive days. 

Despite the school, that educates 1,800 pupils aged three to 19, being closed its Specialist Resource Base for pupils with additional needs has opened today, Wednesday, March 11 even though its staff were part of the original strike action on Thursday, March 5. 

Mum Megan Davies, who said she supports the strike called by the National Education Union NEU, praised teachers in the Specialist Resource Base for returning to work to allow it to open for pupils including her nine-year-old son Jace who has severe autism and global developmental delay. 

She said: “The teachers have been absolutely amazing through all of this. They were part of the strike last week but said it was too disruptive for our children and have come back in. 

“All the teachers see it’s too disruptive for their routine.” 

Other parents said the strike has caused problems with child care, and one said her son has additional needs but as he isn’t a pupil in the Specialist

Resource Base is still unbale to attend school on Wednesday and Thursday this week’s strike days. 

The mum, who asked to remain anonymous, said her six-year-old is a SEN (special education needs) “inbetweener” at the school which opened in a £70 million new building last May. 

She said: “He goes to the Nurture provision, not the Specialist Resource Base, they are the ones who fall through the gaps. 

“The strike has caused problems as he is out of his routine and we struggle to get him to dress and leave the house as it is. 

“Having the days off affect parents in different ways, as some work or have other plans as its the only time you are not being a parent. They have spent all this money on a new school and it’s empty, and staff are not getting paid. There are no wins for anybody really.” 

One mum, who only gave her name as Shannon, said she has a child in the primary years and another in secondary at the school and said: “It is disturbing their education.” 

She said she was concerned at the staff review and potential redundancies as “the school needs the teachers.” 

Parents of children in the nursery provision, which was also closed on the first day of strike action on Thursday, March 5, said they only discovered late on Tuesday, March 10 it would be open the following day. 

The school has also been open for its eldest pupils, in years 12 and 13, in its sixth form during the industrial action. 

Sophie Hemmings, who has a child in nursery and another in playgroup, said: “I only found out it was open from the King Henry Facebook page. Closing does disturb their routine as my daughter doesn’t like going anyway.” 

Ms Davies, who has three other children, aged seven, six and four, and a further two younger children, who haven’t been able to attend school due to the strike action said she has had to cancel a doctor’s appointment and her husband has had to take a day off work as a result. 

But she said she is supportive of the strike: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think their jobs are on the line because the council can’t take some financial responsibility.” 

The school is grappling with a £2.3m budget deficit, built up over a number of years, and Monmouthshire County Council has agreed a recovery plan over eight years, to return to a balanced budget, which includes a staffing and curriculum review.

The school has said teachers are striking over its failure to agree there will be no compulsory redundancies while the union says it wants existing terms and conditions protected. 

The county’s 34 schools, and its pupil referral unit, have a combined deficit budget of £7.5m pounds, as around half of the schools combined have spent more than their budgets, which they set themselves, have allowed.