Evictions to South Grove main school in Walthamstow were closed to students last week.Teachers were on strike as part of a diverse wave of commercial action by members of the National Education Union (NEU) in schools throughout the district of Waltham Forest in east London.Nearby Henry Maynard primary school has been affected, as have South Chingford structure school, Connaught school for ladies, Leytonstone, and Belmont Park school, which caters for students with special academic needs.Next week, South
Grove will be closed for a further five days of strike action, leaving working moms and dads scrambling for child care as soon as again.And yet parents signed up with staff on a sunny
, breezy picket line last Wednesday, eager to show their assistance in response to a school-wide restructure that will cause job losses and less support for kids with unique instructional needs.The effective and popular school has actually been running a deficit for many years– locked into a pricey private financing effort, with increasing expenses connected with special requirements arrangement and a brand-new catering deal that will cost an additional ₤ 50,000 to ₤ 60,000 every year.South Grove school is facing task losses and cuts to unique instructional needs support. Photo: Martin Godwin/The Guardian “We’re here because we enjoy our instructors,” said Stephanie Cobb, a mom of two South Grove students. Last Friday, parents and kids took their protest to the borough’s new Green-led council at Walthamstow city center, where 2 recently chosen councillors came out to listen to their concerns.Lottie Gammon, another parent with two kids at South Grove, said: “When the strikes were announced it was a shock, as absolutely nothing like this had actually taken place
before and myself and my hubby both have full-time jobs. “I think the teachers have actually been really brave to take this action knowing it might be unpopular with families and management. They are standing up for our children and their school.
“Somewhere else in the borough, however, parents have actually expressed issue about the impact of consistent strike action– over a range of complaints– and students at Connaught just recently participated in a counter-protest requiring an end to the strike.Protesters outside Walthamstow city center, where they fulfilled Green councillors last Friday. Photo: Martin Godwin/The Guardian Daniel Kebede, the NEU basic secretary, said commercial action in Waltham Forest remained in keeping with the wider image across London.”It’s extremely easy to blame what’s happening in Waltham Forest on overactive trade union associates, however it’s not the case,”he argued.”
The issue is, across London at the minute, we have actually got this ideal storm of record low birth rate [and] gentrification meaning that families can’t manage to reside in the city any more, which means student numbers are declining considerably.” If you look
throughout London, we have an awful lot of industrial action and it is all relating to reorganizes and redundancies. “According to NEU figures, 13 offices in Waltham Forest have actually voted for strike action in the existing scholastic year. In London as a whole, there have been 26 disagreements around redundancies, reorganizes and school closures.Across England, there have achieved success NEU ballots for strike action in 171 work environments up until now in 2025-26, compared with 117 the previous year. The huge majority of such disputes are settled amicably without strike action going ahead.This fall, nevertheless, an official national ballot of NEU members might bring schools throughout the country to a grinding halt, as in 2023 when teachers took 8 days of strike action.The NEU is demanding an above-inflation pay rise, to be fully funded by government. If ministers stop working to deliver, Kebede is positive there will be resounding support for national industrial
action.Daniel Kebede, basic secretary of the NEU. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA”Strike action, including in Waltham Forest, is a last resort. It’s not where anybody wants to
be. But unfortunately, the crisis is so deep at the moment, we’re typically entrusted to no alternative, “the union leader said.”I was chosen throughout the 2023 strike and I never ever wished to need to be associated with action of that size or significance ever once again, and was hopeful that Labour would reset the dial. “Now I am in complete anguish. I believed Labour would prioritise education. I grew up under ‘education, education, education’, and that’s what I was wishing for, however sadly that’s not been the reality.
“Action is not something we want to take, and we hope that the federal government changes course and we can avoid it.”But unless the government buys education, and unless they totally money an above-inflation
pay award, they are going to move schools from financial crisis to financial collapse. “A Department for Education representative explained the NEU’s approach as “incredibly frustrating”, including:”Ultimately, it will be
kids, young people and hard-working moms and dads who will pay the cost for any commercial action.”