Teachers at St Cuthbert's RC High School have ended their strike action after an agreement was reached between the St Teresa of Calcutta Trust, and the NASUWT and NEU teaching unions.
Since February of this year, there have been 21 strike days at St Cuthbert's RC High School, but following a meeting on 19 June, facilitated by ACAS, the Trust and unions confirmed that the proposed staffing restructure will be paused, with no restructure to take place before September 2027 at the earliest, and an initial period of meaningful consultation with staff and unions to begin in the autumn term of 2026. With this commitment, the unions agreed to suspend industrial action, bringing an end to the long-running dispute between the Trust and unions.
Paul Waugh, Member of Parliament for Rochdale, has welcomed the end to these strikes, he said:
"I warmly welcome the confirmation that the strikes are over, and that the Trust has agreed to pause its restructure plans. This is the exact outcome I have been calling for since early May, and one I put directly to the Trust back in April.
"Everyone wants St Cuthbert's to succeed and no one would say that its most recent Ofsted rating of “requires improvement” is acceptable. I am glad the Trust has listened to staff, students and parents about both the safety issues and the restructuring plans. I am grateful to the Trust and to the unions for their communications with me over recent weeks.
"Throughout this dispute I have heard from parents about the real financial strain they have faced, using up annual leave and savings, renegotiating their working hours, and making sacrifices to support their children's education. Students have faced significant disruption too, and I know this has caused real stress and anxiety, not least for Year 11 pupils walking into their GCSE examinations.
"The experiences of these families must not be overlooked as the school moves forward. I will keep working with the Trust, the unions, the Diocese and the Department for Education to support pupils however I can, and I want to see a formal role for parent voices restored in the governance of the school."
Some of these strikes have come during the exam season, leaving pupils without teaching just days before their GCSE examinations. Due to this, Paul Waugh has confirmed that he had written to the exam board AQA seeking clarity on special consideration for pupils affected by the disruption, and that AQA had confirmed that this would be possible for students who had experienced significant stress and anxiety as a result of the strikes.
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