Evictions to South Grove primary school in Walthamstow were closed to pupils last week.Teachers were on strike as part of a disparate wave of industrial action by members of the National Education Union (NEU) in schools across the borough of Waltham Forest in east London.Nearby Henry Maynard main school has been impacted, as have South Chingford foundation school, Connaught school for ladies, Leytonstone, and Belmont Park school, which caters for students with unique instructional needs.Next week, South
Grove will be closed for a further five days of strike action, leaving working moms and dads rushing for childcare when again.And yet parents signed up with personnel on a bright
, breezy picket line last Wednesday, eager to reveal their support in response to a school-wide restructure that will result in task losses and less support for children with special academic needs.The effective and in-demand school has been running a deficit for many years– locked into an expensive private finance initiative, with increasing costs connected with unique requirements provision and a new catering deal that will cost an extra ₤ 50,000 to ₤ 60,000 every year.South Grove school is dealing with task losses and cuts to special instructional needs support. Picture: Martin Godwin/The Guardian “We’re here since we enjoy our instructors,” stated Stephanie Cobb, a mom of 2 South Grove students. Last Friday, moms and dads and kids took their demonstration to the district’s new Green-led council at Walthamstow town hall, where 2 recently elected councillors came out to listen to their concerns.Lottie Gammon, another parent with two kids at South Grove, stated: “When the strikes were revealed it was a shock, as absolutely nothing like this had happened
before and myself and my other half both have full-time tasks. “I think the instructors have actually been extremely brave to take this action knowing it might be unpopular with families and management. They are standing up for our children and their school.
“In other places in the district, however, moms and dads have revealed issue about the impact of persistent strike action– over a range of complaints– and pupils at Connaught just recently took part in a counter-protest demanding an end to the strike.Protesters outside Walthamstow city center, where they met Green councillors last Friday. Picture: Martin Godwin/The Guardian Daniel Kebede, the NEU basic secretary, said industrial action in Waltham Forest was in keeping with the wider picture throughout London.”It’s really easy to blame what’s taking place in Waltham Forest on overactive trade union associates, but it’s not the case,”he argued.”
The issue is, across London at the moment, we’ve got this perfect storm of record low birth rate [and] gentrification significance that households can’t afford to live in the city any more, which indicates pupil numbers are decreasing considerably.” If you look
across London, we have a horrible great deal of commercial action and it is all relating to restructures and redundancies. “According to NEU figures, 13 workplaces in Waltham Forest have actually chosen strike action in the current academic year. In London as a whole, there have been 26 disagreements around redundancies, restructures and school closures.Across England, there have achieved success NEU tallies for strike action in 171 offices so far in 2025-26, compared to 117 the previous year. The vast majority of such disagreements are settled agreeably without strike action going ahead.This fall, however, an official nationwide ballot of NEU members could bring schools across the country to a standstill, as in 2023 when instructors took eight days of strike action.The NEU is requiring an above-inflation pay increase, to be completely moneyed by government. If ministers stop working to deliver, Kebede is confident there will be definite support for national commercial
action.Daniel Kebede, basic secretary of the NEU. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA”Strike action, consisting of in Waltham Forest, is a last resort. It’s not where any person wishes to
be. But regrettably, the crisis is so deep at the minute, we’re often left with no alternative, “the union leader stated.”I was chosen during the 2023 strike and I never wanted to have to be involved in 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 hoping for, but regrettably that’s not been the truth.
“Action is not something we want to take, and we hope that the government modifications course and we can prevent it.”However unless the federal government buys education, and unless they completely fund an above-inflation
pay award, they are going to move schools from financial crisis to monetary collapse. “A Department for Education representative described the NEU’s approach as “incredibly frustrating”, including:”Ultimately, it will be
children, young people and hard-working parents who will pay the price for any industrial action.”