Strike action over ‘toxic’ management at Crofton Hammond Junior School in Fareham back on agenda after 'postal delays' believed to have led to vote fail

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) at Crofton Hammond Junior School in Stubbington are being balloted again for strike action despite a vote last month not meeting the threshold for industrial action.

The dispute concerns allegations of excessive workloads, unagreed working practices, and ‘bullying and victimisation’ of the union rep. The school’s headteacher Ali Russell is currently away from the role due to ‘personal circumstances’ with Denis Foster put in as acting headteacher.

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An NEU spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately, our industrial action ballot did not meet the anti-union and anti-democratic legal thresholds by the narrowest of margins. Although the "yes" vote was strong (71 per cent), we did not meet the legal turnout threshold by a single vote.

‘However, due to the number of votes that were not counted in the ballot, we believe that postal delays may have caused some ballot papers to not be returned in time and that in normal circumstances we would have achieved the required votes.

‘Therefore, we conducted another indicative test ballot which showed that our members still support taking action and are currently mid-way through a second postal ballot, which closes on March 3.

‘A Hampshire County Council internal process is ongoing.’

The union had arranged a public meeting for concerned parents in December after information about the strike ballot was leaked and spread on social media.

NEU joint Hampshire branch secretary, Sue Kent, said in December: ‘I have been supporting our members for some time to resolve these issues with the management of the school.

‘Our members have been working in a toxic environment, felt unsafe at work, and that management were not listening to their concerns. This is completely unacceptable.

‘After raising the issues, our members did not feel adequately supported by their employer to feel safe at work. Therefore, reluctantly, they felt they had no choice but to be balloted for strike action to ensure their concerns are taken seriously.

‘Outside of our control, information about our ballot has been leaked into the community and we are aware that this is understandably unsettling for parents. Therefore, we have organised a public meeting for all parents so that we can explain to the best of our ability why this was necessary.’

A teacher at the school said staff have felt ‘sick, scared, and anxious’ for too long – with some staff members seeking medical support due the situation.

The teacher said: ‘We came into teaching because we felt passionately about the importance and the lifelong benefits of a good primary education. We would like our employer to work with us to speedily resolve this issue. We are wholeheartedly committed to serving this community and hope to continue to do so.’

Acting chair of governors Helen Cook previously wrote to parents to introduce acting headteacher Mr Foster, a highly regarded headteacher of Guillemont Junior School in Farnborough.