Calls to meet with striking SEND teachers rejected

A council leader has refused to meet with striking teachers and staff to discuss problems at a struggling SEND school.

Cllr Ray Nock, the Reform UK leader of Sandwell Council, rejected calls to meet with teachers, staff and parents at the Orchard School in Oldbury who have been striking over ongoing safety concerns.

Teachers and staff at the overcrowded SEND school walked out in June having been ‘pushed to the edge’ by overcrowded classrooms, mounting vacancies and a lack of support and have since held subsequent strikes and walk-outs.

Cllr Nock told councillors that ongoing disputes and industrial action were matters for council staff and he would not be getting involved.

Parents have described the worrying state of the school’s facilities with rooms out-of-use due to flooding and offices converted into makeshift dining rooms.

The school in Causeway Green Road also lacks even the most basic of resources and money is not made available to buy fundamental specialist equipment. 

Cllr Jalal Uddin, who served as cabinet member for children and families under the council’s last Labour administration, said “serious” concerns had been raised about staffing, workload, health and safety and wellbeing which had created “understandable anxiety for children, families, and staff” at the school.

Cllr Uddin criticised Reform UK for failing to take leadership over ongoing problems at the SEND school and used a motion at Tuesday’s full council meeting to call for  “engagement where there had been silence, and action where there had been inaction.”

“Where are the initiatives to bring parties together?” he asked. “Where is the visible engagement with staff and unions? Where is the urgency that the parents and school employees have every right to expect?

“This motion is not about taking sides in an industrial dispute, it is about recognising that when concerns escalate to sustained industrial action, political leaders have a responsibility to show up and help drive solutions.

“Leadership is not about watching events unfold. Leadership is about intervening constructively, bringing people together, and ensuring problems are resolved before they become a crisis.”

Cllr Ray Nock, the Reform UK leader of Sandwell Council, replied: “I do take it quite sadly, the affront on my character after I’ve spent most of my life teaching impoverished kids and dragging them up and getting them qualifications, thousands over the years at multiple establishments.

“However, I must state, I firmly do not believe that we politicians should get involved in that, which is an officer-led discussion. 

“We could say things that we’re not accustomed to, so I rely on my officers to do those negotiations for me.

“If the party opposite likes the idea of mixing and making decisions around our officers’ backs, I find that rather disappointing.”

Cllr Pam Randhawa said the concerns of children, staff and parents had “fallen on deaf ears” under Reform and attempts to contact the council’s leader and cabinet member had been ignored.

“Many parents will be less concerned about the industrial dispute itself and more concerned about its impact on their children,” she said.

“What assurances can be given by the cabinet member that pupils at the Orchard School will continue to receive the specialist support and stability they need?

“And what steps are being taken to protect their education while the dispute continues?”

Labour leader Cllr Paul Moore said: “On the same day that the Reform leader Nigel Farage, tried to encourage trade unions to affiliate to his party, the leader of the council refused to meet staff on strike outside of the council house to hear their concerns.

“And I’m told from staff who were there and union officials that the reason you gave was that it was raining, and you didn’t want to get wet. Let that sink in just for a moment.

“One of the first jobs of a leader is to listen. It’s absolutely shocking. No leadership at all.”