Leicester teachers quit 'troubled Uplands Junior School' Published duration 10 November 2015

image caption Inspectors rated the school as inadequate in three out of four areas

Ten teachers have resigned from a troubled Leicester school after claiming they were put under "excessive scrutiny".

Uplands Junior School, which was placed in special measures last year , has been temporarily run by a government board.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said its members were angry at the board's rude and obtrusive behaviour.

The Department for Education said it was "disappointed" by the resignations.

The 10 teachers handed in their notices last month, which means they will leave at the end of the year.

According to the union, it follows frustrations over the way they were treated by an Interim Executive Board (IEB) which took over the responsibilities of the school's governing body in May.

Uplands is being forced to become an academy by the government in a bid to improve standards.

The school - on the city's Melbourne Road - has 470 pupils and 21 classroom teachers, according to its website.

'Morale is really rock bottom'

An anonymous former teacher said: "I'm horrified at the way teachers have been treated.

"I know those teachers are good teachers - they are respected and loved by their pupils and the parents. I think the parents will be horrified when they find out.

"A lot of them, all at once, were told the same thing [that they faced professional standards reviews]. You can't judge a teacher on a snapshot.

"It's not possible that [all these] teachers can be inadequate. I think all the staff are horrified at the way they are being treated. Morale is really rock bottom and that impacts every aspect of a school."

Ian Leaver, secretary of Leicester NUT, said: "For 10 teachers to resign, the majority with no job to go to, is unprecedented and reflects the frustration and anger at the way they have been treated by members of the IEB.

"They are deeply concerned about the impact of this on students, but do not believe the IEB has any plan, other than forcing the school to become an academy, to help support the improvements staff were working on."

Mr Leaver added the IEB was brought in for "ideological rather than educational reasons and would distract from the good progress being made".

"We believe that we have unfortunately been proved correct," he said.

'Big loss'

One parent told BBC News: "It is a lovely school and the teachers are great. My son comes home and he knows what he is talking about and he knows his homework - but I don't know what is going on inside. That is something they need to deal with."

Another parent of a Year Six student said: "Plenty of new teachers have come in - I don't even know half of their names. The big loss is the children's education. My son is in his last year at the junior school and after hearing this news I just hope his teacher is staying on."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Uplands Junior School has been judged as requiring special measures for almost two years, with its latest Ofsted monitoring report showing the school is not making adequate progress.

"We are working to ensure the school is turned around in order to allow its pupils to fulfil their potential."

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