That's why they are striking. They aren't getting the support, senior management aren't backing them up.
Teaching staff send the most disruptive pupils to senior management for punishment as it carries more weight. If that person doesn't give any punishment & lets the pupils get a away with it, they will keep on pushing the boundaries because they know nothing will be done.
When I was at school we had detentions with your teacher, if you didn't turn up you had to go to Head Teachers detention which was hell. So in that school in Darwen, what are the teachers to do without support from those above?