Teachers at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) are exercising their right to strike in a series of stoppages to highlight worries over teaching conditions and the future of the college.

Selected staff among the 102 National Education Union (NEU) members at the college have held 12 days of strike action in December and January.

Talks with college management are taking place, but the stoppages will continue “until we reach a resolution with management,” said local lecturer and NEU Representative, Robert Behan.

The strikers say they are taking action over bad college management practices, academisation, and working practices that harm students’ studies. They say these policies and practices are harmful to teachers and students.

“Workload has been steadily increasing over the last five years,” said Behan, “and we are spending more time on lesson planning, marking and non-teaching duties than ever before.”

Teachers believe that less face to face teaching harms students academically. He also warned against the college setting itself up as an Academy.

“Academisation is a form of privatisation,” he said. “Schools and colleges that are academies are run like private businesses. This means that the college would no longer be accountable to governors who represent the community.” The NEU says that becoming an Academy adds little if nothing of benefit to a college.

However, a college spokesperson told Newham Voices: “We are not currently pursuing academisation. We are exploring all options for the future looking to protect our ethos and the long-term future of the college. We don ‘t understand why this action is taking place now when no decisions have been taken.”

The management says that 70 per cent of the college’s non NEU members are working normally and not taking part in the strikes.

When asked if the strikes would negatively impact learning, Behan pointed out that teachers’ ”working conditions are our students’ learning conditions”.

The strikes, on selected dates, are “for the current and future good of the college”. He added: “Striking teachers are all eager to “be back in the classroom doing what we love.”

An email sent to students by the college stated: “The College is committed to ending the strike action as soon as possible and is engaged in frequent and extensive negotiations to try and solve the dispute.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.