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A supply teacher claimed staff at Birmingham's troubled Starbank School were told 'not to intervene' in pupil fights.

Some staff went on strike at the Hob Moor Road site on Thursday (June 27) amid safety concerns including alleged attacks on workers and weekly Thursday fights involving students.

Supply teacher Nadia Mughal claimed there were fights and disruption in some classes she taught - but alleged she had been told not to get involved.

She said: "We're told not to intervene when there's fights.

"But ultimately when you're passionate about working with young people, you can't have young people fighting and not do anything about it.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

"Staff members have been hurt trying to prevent young people from fighting and then there's been no support for those staff members to say: 'We appreciate you stepped in to protect our students'.

"It's been more of a: 'Well, you shouldn't have stepped in, you know what your duty is'.

"So ultimately you're in a situation where you think: 'Do I intervene?' It's very difficult."

This shocking video, shared by a worried parent, allegedly shows fights on the school field and corridors at Starbank Secondary:

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Nadia added: "I feel when I come into the school that my tick list is do I manage to keep the majority of the students in the class, and do I manage to prevent fights?

"And there are lots of fights. On one occasion, there were three fights in one day! There are only five lessons in a day and there were fights in three of them.

"The students very much feel like they're in control and I've had this conversation with them, coming from a youth work background.

"They feel like there are no consequences. If they don't turn up to detentions or to sanctions, nothing much is done about it.

"So they're going to continue to behave the way they do. It's difficult."

The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted but some teachers claimed pupil behaviour was so out of control they were forced to take strike action.

A second walkout is planned for July 3 if the situation fails to improve.

Nadia said she had to mentally prepare herself every time she came to teach at Starbank.

"I psyche myself up for the fact I'm going to have a lesson where I'm probably not going to be able to manage the behaviour of the students," said Nadia, who also works with a youth organisation called Mind our Mentalities.

"But if I can try to work with those students who do want to learn, that's the best I can do."

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

Nadia said she had been offered a permanent position at Starbank but had declined.

She said: "I've been quite honest with the deputy head and said I couldn't do it because, for my own sanity, I would find it too difficult to help the students make progress due to how many disruptions there are on a lesson-by-lesson basis."

After reading this article on BirminghamLive about teachers' fears of knife crime in the school, Nadia said her family were worried about whether she should go into Starbank School.

"Yesterday when I showed my family the article, my mum asked whether I should really be going there and was I safe?

"It make you wonder what are you coming into work for, particularly when there have been issues with safeguarding."

What Nadia believes needs to be done at Starbank

"A lot of teachers at Starbank School really want to do the best for kids," said Nadia.

"There needs to be an improvement in the behaviour policy. There needs to be consequences for the young people.

"Young people want that. All young people want boundaries, as much as you don't believe it. They need rules, they need guidance and they need the adults to be in control.

"Right now the young people are in control. They decide what happens, when they want to come, when they want to go to lessons, when they want to work. And it's very difficult for teachers.

"There needs to a massive turnaround of what the management is doing in terms of behaviour and it needs to happen sooner rather than later."

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

Further strike action planned

The strike, held by NASUWT union members, took place on June 27 and supply staff were brought in by executive head teacher Satnam Dosanjh to keep the school open. A second strike is planned for July 3.

Members of the NEU union decided not to strike after they felt sufficient progress had been made in negotiations with the school's senior management team.

Why teachers called strike action at Starbank School Starbank School hit the headlines when teachers announced they were going on strike due to concerns over safeguarding. Sixteen NASUWT union members protested outside the gates on Thursday June 27 where they were joined by angry parents who said they felt scared to send their children into teh school, on Hob Moor Road. It has since been brought to light that police are investigating two boys who took a knife into the Yardley secondary school, which is rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. Shocking video footage has emerged of a children fighting in corridors and on the school field, in what is known as the 'Thursday fight' although parents and teachers suggest there are fights on most days. The headteacher declined to comment but sent a letter to parents saying that 'pupil behaviour is well-managed' and the school environment 'continues to be safe for both pupils and staff'.

What Birmingham City Council says

Cllr Jayne Francis, cabinet member for education, skills and culture at Birmingham City Council said, “We are deeply disappointed by the recent reports of violence at Starbank School as this does not reflect the experience of our students and staff.

“While there have been isolated incidents in school, these have been extremely rare and have been dealt with appropriately, in-line with city-wide safeguarding policies and the school’s records reflect this.

“Pupil behaviour at Starbank School is well-managed and the school environment continues to be safe for both pupils and staff. If parents have any concerns, parent workshops are being held to facilitate discussion or they would be actively encouraged to speak to the headteacher directly.”

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

What teachers want at Starbank Secondary School

There are calls from NASUWT for proper risk assessments, knife audits and training.

"We want training for members on how to deal with these situations and a knife audit," Paul Nesbitt explained.

“We’ve asked the school to come up with a behaviour policy which looks after children and our members.

"To give them their due respect, they have done this. But it’s still a draft and has not been delivered for members to access it so it’s not enough. They need something to be done about this now.

“This is why members are striking."

A safeguarding review has been carried out by Birmingham City Council and staff are awaiting the results.

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