Teachers across the Harrogate district left the classrooms today as part of a series of national strikes organised by the National Education Union.

This morning, picket lines were seen outside schools including Harrogate High and Springwater in Starbeck.

Teachers from Rossett Acre Primary School formed a picket on Pannal Ash Road and received support from several passing motorists.

Year 6 teacher Timothy Marshall told the Stray Ferret the North Yorkshire secretary of the NEU had joined the picket first thing, and all the teachers were going to an official march in Leeds this afternoon.

He said:

“We were all a bit scared to be here at first, but we’re proud of what we do. We love our jobs and work incredibly hard.

“If you don’t pay teachers fairly, you have over-worked, unhappy teachers.

“I scrape to the end of the month every month, and my partner and I work full-time. I’m in a respected profession.

“Strike action is the last resort. Nobody wants to strike. I can’d afford to lose £300 this month, but that’s why I’m striking.”

A picket line outside Harrogate High School today

Mr Marshall said two non-union teachers had refused to cross the picket line this morning and five members of school support staff had joined the protest in solidarity as well.

He said he and his colleagues were striking not just to protest against a real-terms pay cut of up to 10% in recent years, but also to call for better working conditions and funding for schools.

Asked whether the strike action was justified when it resulted in more disruption for children’s education, he said:

“I would say taking the money out of school budgets impacts them more.

“I’m a teacher who needs resources. If we have to sit in assembly with the lights off, which we do, and in the staff room with the lights off, which we do, you can’t tell me this action is what is impacting schools.”

Rossett Acre Primary School is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust with 13 member schools across North and West Yorkshire.

Its chief executive, Richard Sheriff, said many schools were taking steps to cut their fuel consumption and reduce bills, which he viewed as a sensible move amid a cost-of-living crisis. He said:

“No doubt schools are making every effort both in our trust and in every single part of the country to reduce bills.

“It’s good to hear they are making every effort to not use lights unnecessarily – the same as I do in my office.”

As a former president of the Association of School and College Leaders, he said he worked closely with unions to ensure conditions and benefits for staff were the best they could be.

However, he said, issues of funding for education were for the treasury and department for education. He added, as leader of RKLT, he was doing all he could to push the government for “fair and better funding for schools and our young people”.

Read more:

• Harrogate hospital nurses to strike again next month
• Meet the man aiming to restore pride and ambition at Rossett School

Schools in the Harrogate district are celebrating the Queen’s platinum jubilee ahead of next week’s half-term holidays.

Pupils have been making crafts, performing re-enactments and putting on performances to commemorate the Queen’s 70th year on the throne.

If you have images of jubilee activities at your school, send them to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will add them to this article.

Harrogate Ladies’ College 

The Harrogate Ladies’ College held a special jubilee dinner and finished it off with a ceilidh.

Springwater School 

The sixth form students at the Harrogate school put on a opened their own jubilee bakery with home-made scones, cakes and jam.

The students also decorated the school in red, white and blue and had their own version of the Queen sat in the school.

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School

Pupils at St Peter’s have had a busy week celebrating the platinum jubilee.

This week Owl class held a tea party with a specially choreographed dance to perform alongside ‘Dancing for Wellbeing’ a local group of elderly residents who dance for their health and enjoyment.

The school had a full church service followed by an afternoon of craft making flags, keyrings and painting canvases and stones.

Years 3 and 4

Starbeck Primary Academy

Children dressed up in red, white, blue, purple and silver. They had a day making craft and artwork that was all dedicated to Her Majesty.

Scotton Lingerfield Primary School

Children at Scotton Lingerfield dressed up in red, white and blue and took part in craft activities this week.

Fountains Church of England Primary School

Fountains Church School has held a week of jubilee activities for its students.

The children danced and sang whilst decorating plates to keep as a momento of the platinum jubilee.

An afternoon tea was also held for all the parents with the children spending much of the morning preparing sandwiches and cakes for the adults to enjoy.

Upper Nidderdale Primary Federation – Glasshouses Community Primary, St Cuthbert’s C of E and Fountains Earth C of E Primary Schools

This week the three schools have been learning about the Queen’s reign and commemorated the event by burying a time capsule and planting a rose tree.

The children also performed a song, made crowns and painted portraits of the Queen.

Over the week, the schools invited parents in to enjoy tea and cakes.

Today, children across all three schools will come together to enjoy an afternoon tea at lunchtime.

Kirkby Malzeard Church of England Primary School

Children at Kirkby Malzeard School made crowns and decorated cakes to celebrate the jubilee.

Dacre Braithwaite Church of England Primary School

Pupils at Dacre Braithwaite Primary enjoyed a jubilee themed day yesterday with a variety of activities.

The children learnt about the significance of the Union Jack flag and to sing the National Anthem. They also made and decorated 96 jubilee buns and made their own crowns.

They did plan to have an outdoor street party but unfortunately the weather meant it had to be inside but headteacher, Jo Dobbs said it was still a “brilliant day”.

Western Primary School

Children from Western Primary School had their faces painted and got to dress up for the day today as they learnt about the Queen’s 70-year reign.

The students spent the morning learning about the jubilee and what the Queen has done during her reign.

Angelique Coatesworth, year 3 and four phase leader, said:

“We watched a clip of the original coronation and marvelled at the pomp and ceremony, especially the golden coach.  All the children were fascinated with our discussions on what life was like back when the queen was coronated at just 25 years old.

“We made some commemorative art of the queen’s face. The children worked very carefully on these. Our dress up winners each received a royal themed book. This was organised by our wonderful family and friends.”

Killinghall Church of England Primary School

Pupils at Killinghall Primary School held a coronation with a garden party and a musical concert.

Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary School

Students at the school held a coronation re-enactment using props and costumes they made themselves.

Andrew Breckon, year 5 and 6 teacher, said:

“We held it in the village church and then had a tea party back at school with our new ‘Elizabeth sponge’ which the children made too.”

Students from Grewelthorpe made their own costumes for the re-enactment.

St Robert’s Catholic Primary School 

The year 2 Starlings class at St Robert’s got their very own visit from the Queen.

Read more:

• Knaresborough to host history festival for jubilee weekend
• Harrogate youngster watches Leeds drama from bench…before sitting GCSEs today

Brackenfield School 

Brackenfield School is preparing for a jubilee showcase tomorrow with readings, music and performances by the children.

The first half will be led by the infants performing two original songs written by the school’s music director, Helen Leaf, and classic London-based songs such as Lambeth Walk.

The second half of the showcase will begin with a montage from the school’s junior choir, including musical numbers and readings, guiding the audience through the life of the Queen up to the present day.

Headteacher Joe Masterson said:

“The jubilee is a fantastic opportunity for us to hold an afternoon filled with delicious cakes and impressive entertainment, highlighting the wonderful and wide-ranging talents of our children. They have been rehearsing tirelessly, all eagerly anticipating their performances, and can’t wait to host our special guests.”

Moorside Primary School

Children at Moorside Primary School in Ripon were gifted special, wooden pennies from the Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels to commemorate the jubilee.

The pennies have been made by a team of workers at Jennyruth Workshops and have been gifted to every pupil at the 17 primary schools in the city and surrounding villages.

The school held a garden party, attended by a woman looking very much like Her Majesty, organised a Royal Bake Off and dressed in red, white and blue.

Headteacher Claire Rowett said:

“We’ve had a week of celebrations involving our children and staff and everybody was in a joyous jubilee mood, as we look forward to the the events being held in the city centre and residential streets.”

“As a prelude to the extended Bank Holiday weekend, we created a portrait gallery with pictures of the Queen drawn by pupils.”

The children, with Union Jacks in hand, prepare for ‘The Queen’s’ arrival

The Queen’ meets one of the pupils at Moorside Primary

Follifoot Church of England Primary School

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

St Joseph’s school celebrated on earlier this week with all the children dressing in red, white and blue and enjoying a street party on the playground and playing field.

Children and their families were invited to join the event. Children sang, shared foods, played party games and took part in a royal quiz.

Boroughbridge High School has maintained its ‘good’ Ofsted rating — but the schools inspector indicated the grade “might not be as high” if it had carried out a full inspection.

The 446-pupil school’s Ofsted report was published this week following a short inspection on January 11 and 12.

The school received a ‘good’ grading in its last full Ofsted inspection in 2012.

Schools assessed to be ‘good’ do not receive graded judgements on their next visit.

Instead they are subject to short inspections and if Ofsted finds evidence that they would now receive a higher or lower grade, they are told they will receive a full inspection next time — which is what happened in this instance.

The school was commended for its approach to tackling bullying. Pupils said they know adults will help if it occurs and it is “very rare”. The school was also praised for creating a positive atmosphere where pupils feel safe.

The report added leaders have coped well with the pandemic and have adapted the curriculum to ensure pupils have time to catch-up on missed work, such as science lessons.

Enrichment opportunities and the focus on individual pupils’ needs also earned praise. Safeguarding was deemed “effective”.

Classroom disruption

But the report raised concerns around an ‘inconsistent approach to dealing with low-level disruption’ — a view shared by parents.

It also said ‘teachers do not always make their expectations clear’ and ‘plans to develop pupils’ love of reading are not well embedded’.

Inspectors will return to the school within two years for a full inspection.

The report says:

“In some lessons, some pupils lack engagement. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of pupils’ behaviour in lessons.  Staff do not consistently apply expectations around uniform. Consequently, pupils’ attitudes are variable.

“Governors do not challenge leaders about standards of behaviour, to ensure that what leaders tell them is accurate.”

Kathryn Stephenson, the school headteacher

Read more:

• Moves to close Woodfield School in Bilton to begin next week
• Foundation to run sports clubs for disadvantaged children in Harrogate

Sixth form closure

School governors decided this month to temporarily close the sixth form in the summer due to issues with funding and declining student numbers.

The Ofsted report says there are currently only 12 sixth form students.

All courses and pastoral support will transfer to King James’s School in Knaresborough. The two schools federated last year.