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Frustrated parents have claimed that their children's education is being negatively impacted due to ongoing strikes at Flint High School. They have pointed the finger at the school's governors and the local education authority, accusing them of "failing" their children, and are now staging a protest of their own. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) have staged walkouts on eight days this term, citing poor pupil behaviour and alleged "bullying" by management as the reasons for their action. Further strikes are planned for the first week back after half term on 3rd and 4th November, with both sides blaming each other for failing to negotiate a resolution. Union representatives stated in September, when the walkouts began, that staff had been injured while intervening in pupil fights and regularly faced verbal harassment, with students wandering corridors during lessons. Now, a group of over 100 parents have united to voice their concerns. They plan to hold a protest at the school on November 4, coinciding with a teacher strike. One parent involved said: "Our children have now lost weeks of lessons with no clear plan for what to do," reports Wales Online . "As parents, we feel it is now our turn to speak. "Our children are being failed - not by the teachers striking, but by those in positions of responsibility who are supposed to safeguard their education. " Flintshire County Council and the school's governing body have shown a complete lack of leadership, transparency, and urgency while pupils' learning has been torn apart. "Children have now lost weeks of lessons, with no structured plan to keep their education on track. "Parents have repeatedly asked how learning continuity will be maintained, but the council continues to hide behind the excuse that it cannot comment on industrial action. That is not good enough." The parent, who has children in key exam years nine and 11, is worried about the loss of learning. She said parents are also angry that the NEU strike has been partly blamed on poor behaviour. "Most pupils are well behaved. There is bad behaviour in every school and the main issues here are about management," she added. "Industrial action may be a complex issue, but protecting children's education is squarely within the council's legal duty under the Education Act. Their silence and inaction speak volumes. "To make matters worse, rather than taking responsibility, officials have allowed a damaging narrative to spread - that poor pupil behaviour is to blame. This is both unfair and insulting. The majority of pupils are doing their best despite the chaos, and they deserve better than to be used as scapegoats for adult failings. "Our children have already endured enough disruption through the pandemic. Every lost lesson widens the gap and chips away at their confidence and wellbeing. "Parents are united in demanding that Flintshire County Council step up, stop deflecting, and take immediate action to protect our children's right to learn." Matters took a new twist last week with the NEU Cymru claiming its officials have been denied the opportunity to speak directly to Flint High's governing body. "Whilst there have been meetings between union officials, the local authority, and school management, members continue to be denied the opportunity to speak directly with the full governing body," the union said. "NEU Cymru understands that a full governing body meeting was due to take place on Thursday 16 October but only a handful of governors took the time to attend." Liz McLean, NEU Executive Member for Wales, said: "The commitment our members are showing to ensure a safe working environment for all staff and all learners is inspiring. When members win this dispute, and we know that they will with levels of support the local community has shown them, the school will come out in a much stronger state." Flintshire County Council education director Claire Homard hit back at the claims saying many hours had been spent attempting to negotiate with the NEU but there was an "unwillingness" among the union members to allow time for proposed changes in the school to take effect and demonstrate their impact. Ms Homard said: "Senior officers of the council have spent many hours in negotiations with national NEU officials to seek a resolution to the ongoing industrial action at Flint High School. "There has been clear recognition by school leaders and the chair of governors of the concerns raised by NEU members and a significant number of new approaches to improving communication, staff wellbeing and pupil behaviour developed. "In meetings with council officers, NEU national officials have acknowledged the constructive efforts of the school leadership and chair of governors, alongside the offers of support from the education department of the council, to resolve the concerns of their members at the school. However, those members have repeatedly shown an unwillingness to allow time for all the proposed changes within the school to take effect and demonstrate their impact. "The reason NEU members give for not engaging in finding a resolution, despite the many offers being made, is that they have not been given the opportunity to meet with the whole governing body to discuss their concerns. "The council has repeatedly advised the NEU that such a meeting is not appropriate under the school governance regulations. There are procedures for governors to follow when staff escalate grievances they believe have not been effectively addressed by school leaders. "Staff bringing grievances to the governing body need to provide clear evidence to support their claims. Governors need to remain impartial and independent to be able to manage those grievances without bias. As the employer, governors need to ensure that all parties are treated fairly and equitably during such processes. "Governors at Flint High School have appropriately followed procedures in relation to the grievances brought forward by NEU members at the school and these were not upheld. NEU members need to accept that this process has concluded and move on. It also needs to be accepted by NEU members that a meeting with the whole governing body would prevent governors from hearing any future grievances related to the current concerns, impartially. "To further reassure NEU members, the governing body has committed to putting a senior representative on the proposed joint consultative committee and has nominated a link governor to monitor the effectiveness of the improved strategies being introduced to improve communication, wellbeing and pupil behaviour. "The governing body already has teacher and staff representatives as part of its instruments of governance. School leaders and the governing body can legitimately do no more to demonstrate that they have taken the concerns of NEU members at the school seriously – they have committed to several important improvements to benefit all staff and pupils at the school and have been open and honest in recognising where, in the past, things may not have been managed as effectively as they might have been. "This view is supported by ACAS, the government's Advice, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, who have also supported negotiations to find a resolution. "The Council urges NEU members at the school to stop their current industrial action, to accept the advice given in relation to the role of the governing body, to work constructively with school leaders to give these improvements time to embed and prevent further disruption to pupils' learning which is causing them and their families considerable concern." Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find out what's happening near you
