UNISON members at Ash Field Academy, a SEND school in Leicester, have announced three days of strike action to demand the reinstatement of their elected representative, Tom Barker.
By Leicester Socialist Alternative reporters
Tom, a supporter of Socialist Alternative, has now been suspended for more than six months. Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT), the multi-academy trust which runs the school, claims that they are still investigating his case, though they have repeatedly changed the allegations they claim to be investigating since the initial suspension.
In an astonishing act of solidarity, 87% of members voted for strike action over Tom’s suspension. This is despite Tom being absent from the workplace for more than half a year! This level of support clearly shows the popularity of a militant socialist approach to trade unionism.
The reinstatement campaign, which has continually been covered by Socialist Alternative, has attracted significant attention. More than 400 trade unionists, including UNISON’s new General Secretary Andrea Egan and Zarah Sultana MP have signed an open letter demanding Tom’s reinstatement. In February, both also contributed to a public rally on the same theme.
Background to Tom’s suspension
During the 2024/25 academic year, UNISON – which represents the vast majority of Ash Field’s support staff – repeatedly raised concerns relating to health and safety. This situation worsened when DSAT, over UNISON’s strenuous objections, cut several further staff via a hugely rushed redundancy process. UNISON members voted for strike action over the staffing situation, with that ballot closing on 20 October 2025.
On 30 October 2025, DSAT’s leadership suspended Tom from his duties, citing allegations against him. Originally, they said the suspension was due to an ‘incident’ alleged to have taken place on 29 October. However, as far back as December, in emails we understand to have been obtained in a Subject Access Request, the independent investigating officer reported that there was no case to answer, recommended an end to the suspension. DSAT failed to act on this.
Many UNISON members at Ash Field signed a statement describing his suspension as “a bad-faith attack on UNISON members” and a “reprisal for members voting for industrial action.”
On 12 January 2026, DSAT leaders claimed that Tom’s suspension was to protect the integrity of an investigation into a grievance. This investigation concluded in February 2026, yet Tom was not reinstated.
After the external investigators looking into the two previous allegations found no case to answer, the Trust has since appointed a new investigator from a separate organisation to investigate again. Tom has since been re-suspended.
A UNISON member at Ash Field who wished to remain anonymous said that they felt that their voice had been “taken away”.
Another said: “We cannot stand by while our steward is unfairly dismissed. Tom did what a union rep should do – speak up about staffing, workload, and the impact on supporting pupils’ education and staff health. Our vote shows we stand firmly behind Tom.”
