Union bosses representing staff at Samworth Church Academy say staff could strike over the course of three days if the issues aren’t resolved
13:30, 27 Jan 2026Updated 15:00, 27 Jan 2026
Samworth Church Academy(Image: Google Street View)
Dozens of teachers and support staff at a Nottinghamshire school are due to strike over a number of issues, including their workload.
Staff members at Samworth Church Academy, in Sherwood Hall Road, Mansfield, will be on the picket line from 7.30am on Wednesday, January 28.
They will strike over issues with workload, ‘unreasonable’ management practices and a ‘failure’ to establish effective industrial relations and negotiating structures.
The National Education Union (NEU) explained that further strikes will take place on February 3 and 5 if the issues aren’t resolved.
More than 60 teachers and support staff members at the school are represented by the union. NEU officials claim to have been raising issues with the academy and its trust since September.
Nottinghamshire Live understands one of the specific issues relates to teachers having to cover for absent colleagues – on what’s claimed to have been on ‘hundreds’ of occasions.
This is despite the contractual agreement stating that “teachers should be required to provide cover only rarely and only in circumstances that are not foreseeable”.
Staff also feel their professional views are not valued, claiming changes are imposed on them by management ‘unilaterally’.
They described the management style as “patronising, insulting and counter-productive”.
A two-hour meeting took place between representatives of the union, the chief executive of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Multi-academy Trust, which runs the school, the executive headteacher and the headteacher on Tuesday, January 20.
The union explained that, due to the duration of the meeting, key issues were left unresolved and no agreement was reached.
The staff members’ decision to strike was reached reluctantly to secure positive, long-term changes, the union added.
Rob Illingworth, joint branch secretary of Nottinghamshire NEU, said: “The issues at Samworth Church Academy could, and should, have been resolved long before our members have been put in a position where they feel they have no choice but to take industrial action.
“For management to allow only two hours for negotiations that the NEU hoped would resolve the dispute brings into question whether the employer is serious about finding a resolution.
“Our members care passionately about the students they educate and the community they serve – it is seeing the impact on those students that has convinced dedicated teachers and support staff that strike action is a necessary last resort.
“I sincerely hope that management will begin to engage seriously with the legitimate concerns of our members so that we can reach a positive resolution for everyone.”
More than 1,000 pupils attend Samworth Church Academy, which got a mix of ‘good’ and ‘requires improvement’ judgements from Ofsted when it was last inspected in May 2025.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Multi-academy Trust explained that multiple meeting have taken place to address the issues raised and that “common ground” was found on all workload and cover issues.
They added that the staffing picture was made more complex by some staff having numerous gaps in their timetable.
A meeting scheduled for February 3 could address the union’s request to review and amend the school’s staff absence management policy.
The spokesperson said: “Agreeing to this change would mean departing from the trust’s absence management policy, which has been jointly agreed with all unions and is applied consistently across every academy in the trust.
“Stepping outside this agreed framework in just one academy would, we feel, be unfair and would create inequality across the trust, resulting in staff being treated differently from one school to another.
“A consistent staff absence management policy ensures all staff are treated equitably across all schools, while actively supporting staff wellbeing and helping them return to work safely and confidently when it is applied fairly and predictably.
“It also enables schools to plan for and manage staff absences effectively, ensuring students benefit from stable, uninterrupted learning.”
The school will provide support for students to complete work at home during the strike day.
The spokesperson added: “We deeply regret that our families are now required to make alternative arrangements during the strike day.
“We will continue to work closely with staff union representatives to reach a fair solution and will keep families updated on any proposed union action.
“Our commitment remains to act in the best interests of pupils, staff and the wider school community.”
