Strike action over academy plan

Ministers want to open 200 academies by 2010

Teachers at a Derby school have staged a one-day strike over plans to turn it into an academy.

Members of the NASUWT teachers' union staged the protest at the Sinfin Community School on Wednesday.

The union is against academies, known as "independent state schools", which often have private sponsors and set their own pay and conditions for staff.

Ministers plan to have 200 academies open or in the pipeline by 2010, seeing them as a key way of improving schools.

The school remained partially open for examinations and a few revision classes, but otherwise school was closed.

The teachers also withdrew from all voluntary activities, after-school meetings and writing internal reports as part of their protest.

The creation of academies is a key plank of the government's drive to improve struggling schools, particularly in challenging inner city areas.

Authority support

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "Unless we can get some constructive dialogue going and some understanding of the seriousness of the problem, it is likely to be a long running campaign, which may involve more strike action."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) said: "The local authority have indicated that they support the move to academy status for Sinfin School, with Derby College as an eminently suitable local sponsor.

"The aim is to improve educational standards and we support the local authority in this aim."

There are currently 83 academies open in 49 local authorities, with a further 50 due to open in each of the next 3 years.

The government expects to exceed the target of 200 academies either open or in the pipeline by 2010.