Schools without Kitchens and Strikes

The BBC is reporting that five new schools in Northampton are being built without kitchens - despite government promises of extra money for school meals and places to cook them.  Of six primary schools being built in  the town, only one will have somewhere to prepare school meals.  The LA says that it would try to bring in hot meals cooked at another school.  A spokesman for the Department of Education and Skills said 'new school kitchens would be made a priority and extra millions would start to come through in 2008.'  Just two years too wait for a hot meal in school!

Also from the BBC is news that the NUT is asking members in 40 schools in England whether they would be willing to strike over changes to allowances. It stressed these ballots were indicative - "a shot across the bows". Most schools are successfully implementing the move to new "teaching and learning responsibility" payments, under which some staff will lose money.  The NUT did stress that to organise a strike, a separate ballot would have to be conducted, which would be in the middle of next term.