Teacher strike across 20 schools begins
BBCTeachers at a trust that runs schools across the West Midlands have begun a nine-day strike.
In a letter to parents and carers, the chief executive of The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP), Richard Gill, said The National Education Union (NEU) confirmed in December its members would strike over the prospect of compulsory redundancies.
Of the 24 schools run by the trust in Birmingham, Coventry and Staffordshire, four would not be affected, Gill wrote.
The strikes are due to take place on 14-15, 20-22 and 26-29 January and the CEO said they would lead to "a level of disruption".
A spokesperson for the NEU said "proposed large-scale redundancies will have a detrimental impact on the support that children in our trust receive."
Gill added: "It is regrettable that the union have reached this decision.
"We have made efforts to work with colleagues from the NEU to avoid strike action and will continue to do so."
Google MapsIn Sutton Coldfield, teachers at the picket line outside Arthur Terry School said the proposed cuts were "heartbreaking".
Staff said a loss of jobs would result in bigger classes and more pressure on teachers.
"No-one has been told yet exactly who is going to lose their job, but it's this question of if and when, which as you can imagine is just so heartbreaking because you're constantly wondering is it going to be me," said English teacher Connor Herron.
"I just feel like I've been betrayed, I've looked after all these children all over these years, I just feel heartbroken," added Janine Nichols, the school's librarian assistant.
One parent, Jen, said teachers were "overwhelmed as it is".
"You need people at the ground level to do the one-to-one support that's detailed in the plans and if you make them redundant, you've got no one to do that work," she added.
Schools set to be affected by strike action are:
- Anna Seward Primary, Lichfield
- Coton Green Primary, Tamworth
- Curdworth Primary, Sutton Coldfield
- Deykin Avenue Junior and Infant, Witton, Birmingham
- Hill West Primary, Sutton Coldfield
- Mere Green Primary, Four Oaks
- Osborne Primary, Erdington, Birmingham
- Paget Primary, Pype Hayes, Birmingham
- Scotch Orchard Primary, Lichfield
- Slade Primary, Erdington
- St Chad's CE Primary, Lichfield
- St Michael's C of E Primary, Lichfield
- William MacGregor Primary School, Tamworth
- Two Gates Primary School, Tamworth
- The Coleshill School, Warwickshire
- The Royal Sutton School, Sutton Coldfield
- Nether Stowe School, Lichfield, Staffordshire
- Stockland Green School, Erdington, Birmingham
- The Arthur Terry School, Sutton Coldfield
- West Coventry Academy, Coventry
Schools not affected are The Bridge Academy Lichfield, Greysbrooke Primary in Shenstone, Brookvale Primary in Erdington and Dunstall Park Primary, Tamworth, Gill confirmed in his letter.
In a post on its website, the trust said the need to reduce staff numbers was the result of "significant overstaffing", which a spokesperson said had been masked by an accounting error in 2022-23 - and they denied the "central team" was facing cuts.
They added final plans were yet to be consulted on and that suggesting the proposals would lead to an increased workload for staff was "misleading".
Gill added the trust had approached conciliation service Acas to seek a resolution but acknowledged face-to-face education for all pupils could be compromised.
Chris Denson, from the NEU, said his union felt the cuts would "hit our most vulnerable students", see more than 100 jobs lost.
He called on the trust to drop the plans and negotiate with them on a solution.
"The cuts come as a result of financial errors at the trust, something teachers and support staff should not bear the brunt of," he added.
"The fact that the top slice central funding contribution to the ATLP is running at over 20% of every school's budget, way above that of other academies. This is where the cuts should land, not on front-line services."
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