Staff will strike 'for as long as it takes' at lipa school

TEACHERS CITED CONCERNS ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY, ADVERSE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND DANGEROUS PUPIL BEHAVIOUR 13:58, 21 May 2025Updated 16:00, 21 May 2025 Teachers at Liverpool city centre

school have vowed to strike for "as long as it takes" for their concerns to be addressed. LIPA School staff formed a picket line outside the building on Upper Duke Street today as

they protested issues of "health and safety, adverse management practices and dangerous pupil behaviour". The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)

announced the strike earlier this week after meetings with school leaders failed to reach a resolution. A spokesperson for LIPA Multi Academy Trust said: “An action plan is currently being

implemented to remedy the issues that need to be addressed. Progress has been made and follow-up meetings will be scheduled to update our staff on progress.” Speaking from the picket line,

NASUWT representative Bryan McConnell said: "For example, if there's an emergency, there is no senior management who can help and support staff. The staff are basically being left

on their own. "If there's behaviour from students, or if a parent decides to come in and cause issues, they cannot get that support. Without an effective system from the school,

our members are being left at risk. "The situation right now is we had met with LIPA, but what they have tried to put in place isn't sufficient, we feel." Article continues

below He added: "What we're trying to do with the Trust is get the people in senior positions to manage the school effectively and keep everyone safe. We want our members to go to

work and feel safe. "We've got 25 out on strike, and it's only a small school, so that is the majority of the staff, and we'll go on for as long as it takes until we

feel, once we have done our safety inspections, that the school is safe." The strike follows six months of industrial action by staff at another site, LIPA Sixth Form, over what the NEU

called “inefficient management practices and health and safety concerns.” Article continues below A series of walk-outs were staged throughout November, December and early 2025 before

finally coming to an end on April 28, when union members voted to endorse a dispute resolution agreement and new industrial relations framework. Bryan said: "It's not directly

linked to us, but it is in a way, because the same health and safety issues that were in the sixth form are prevalent in the primary and secondary school "Staff at the sixth form, after

prolonged industrial action, now have the health and safety things they need. We need the same in the primary and secondary."