Staff at a school for the visually impaired were refused entry to a student leavers' party last Thursday because they had been striking for a better pay deal earlier in the day.

Support assistants at Linden Lodge School, Southfields - which teaches children and teenagers with visual impairments and disabilities - were looking forward to the party, where they would be seeing students for the last time before they left.

The staff, some who have known the children for more than 10 years, were "upset and hurt" by the decision.

In a letter the school's headteacher, Roger Legate, said the action was a consequence of not knowing which of the 35 Unison members were striking.

It said: "As a consequence this has made forward planning a challenge and has led me to have to make difficult management decisions regarding the safe operation of the school during the strike period."

One distraught assistant, who didn't want to be identified for fear of losing their job, said: "We are hurt and upset because they had to take the strike action.

"Some of the staff have been here for years and have known the young people since they were primary age and they are now 19, though they might not have been with them everyday day during that time.

"Some worked with them in the residential units, in a home environment and all of the staff feel quite sad that it has come to this.

One of the children even spoke to the headteacher to ask for the assistants to come.

Linda Chapman, branch secretary of Unison Wandsworth, said: "I think it is unfortunate that children are effectively punished for something that they have nothing to do with.

"They were deprived of seeing staff they have been close to before leaving the school.

"Teaching assistants didn't want to go on strike but felt they had to do so because they cannot live on their wages."

The striker added: "None of us took the decision lightly to strike and we all know we are going to be watching our purse strings for the next month. I just scrape by at the moment and wages just pay my rent and council tax. We just want a living wage."

About 35 members took part in the strike, though some workers did cross the picket line. Unison is demanding more than the 2.45 per cent rise currently offered.

A spokesman for the school said: "The staff made it clear to the school that they were on strike for 48 hours.

"As a result we had to take a number of difficult decisions at the last minute such as cancelling the sports day.

"Thankfully, we were at least able to ensure the leavers' barbeque could go ahead. Staff supporting the industrial action would have known at the start that they risked missing two of the most important events of the school year."

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