Why teachers are striking at Great Ormond Street School

Nearly a century later GOSH established a school for its young patients, which since 1990 also provides tuition for young people at nearby University College London (UCL) Hospital.

In 75 years, a local dispute had never triggered industrial action at the school.

That changed dramatically last autumn when members of the National Education Union (NEU), which represents most of the school’s teachers, walked out.

Since September 2025 NEU members have struck for 31 days after the school’s recently installed headteacher suspended four staff including a science teacher, IT instructor and the SEN co-ordinator along with an early years educator, who was also the NEU representative in July.

George Binette joined a rally outside of Camden Town in support of a sacked Great Ormand Street Hospital school teacher (Image: George Binette)

The NEU rep was Kate Williams, a 49-year-old Hackney resident, who has lived virtually all her adult life and raised her two children in the borough.

Williams had served as the school’s union rep for nearly four years and taught at the school since 2011, having started her career at Shacklewell Primary School.

In March, after nine months in limbo, GOSH/UCL Hospital School sacked Williams.

On April 20, I joined scores of Williams’ colleagues, reps from other Camden schools, the union’s general secretary Daniel Kebede and NEU officers from several other London boroughs including Hackney at a rally outside Camden’s Town Hall.

They had gathered both to support her and demand action from the local authority.

Four days later I spoke with Kate and a colleague. With an internal appeal still pending and her union backing an unfair dismissal claim at Employment Tribunal, she could say little about the background to the loss of a job she clearly loved.

Though she holds a master’s degree and has made considerable progress towards a PhD at UCL’s Institute of Education, Kate is self-effacingly modest.

The stress of recent months forced her to defer completion of the PhD, but she insists the battle at the school “is bigger than me in terms of colleagues and for the union.”

Both Kate and her colleague saw the school’s current regime engaged in “complete and utter union-busting".

Her colleague added school staff, “really miss Kate – personally and professionally".

The events of the past 10 months have clearly taken their toll, but Kate remains quietly confident about regaining her job: “If this can be won, it will be won.”

• George Binette is a former Hackney North & Stoke Newington Labour Party Trade Union officer.