Tuesday April 18th 2023

Parents/Guardians

Full day of strike action by teachers and school leaders on April 26th . I am writing to you about forthcoming strike action by the five teaching unions in Northern Ireland. You may have seen coverage of this in the news, and I wanted to inform you about the impact this is likely to have at our school.

How will strike action affect St Mary’s Star of the Sea Ps?

When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour. Staff members involved in this industrial action will therefore not undertake any duties on Wednesday 26th April 2023. A detailed risk assessment has been conducted which considers the impact the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff, and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum, to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike.

The Board of Governors has determined that the school will be closed for all pupils on Wednesday 26th April 2023 and will reopen as normal on Thursday 27th April.

Clearly this is a difficult situation, which will cause some disruption. I would ask you, however, to be understanding. This is a very unusual circumstance and is the direct result of the failure to consider the very real concerns expressed by teachers and school leaders.

Taking strike action is not something that anyone would undertake lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the period that they are on strike.

Yours sincerely,

Mr G Barrett

PRINCIPAL