Strike action has not been ruled out at a Widnes school as union chiefs labelled plans to cut jobs ‘a disaster’.
The World reported recently how Warrington Primary Academy Trust – which runs Ditton Primary School on Liverpool Road – was restructuring its teaching assistant (TA) team, with the aim of reducing current numbers by September.
The trust has blamed falling birth rates and its impact on school finances for the decision, with Government funding tied to pupil numbers.
But the UNISON union has hit out at the move and also criticised how information was being communicated to staff and the union itself.
Keith Bradley, regional organiser and lead officer for schools at UNISON, said: “These redundancies are a disaster for low paid women workers living in the community where the school is.
“This is not the first-time staff at this school have faced cuts. UNISON is greatly concerned how the trust are communicating the information to staff and negotiating with UNISON. It is creating undue stress on our members.”
He added: “We as a union considering all our options open to us that would include industrial action.”
Seamus O’Dwyer, chief finance officer at Warrington Primary Academy Trust, said making what he called a ‘difficult change’ now was to ensure the school was sustainable in the future.
He said: “Our consultation process was opened early to give anyone who wanted to consider voluntary redundancy the opportunity to let us know so they would have extra time to look for other roles. This is especially important for those seeking work in the education sector from September.”
He said: “We have involved union representatives from the start and want to work closely with them to make sure that the process is as supportive as it can be in the circumstances.”
He added: “We are very conscious of our duty of care towards our staff, and as part of our support to all staff we are offering a package of care and support, including coaching and confidential counselling and wellbeing support.”
The trust said the proposed cuts are part of a strategy to eventually reduce the size of the Liverpool Road school in anticipation of falling birth rates.
It is expected this would see it go from a two-form entry with provision for 321 pupils, to a one-form entry with provision for 230 pupils by the end of the decade. The trust said it was not actively reducing pupil numbers, but expected them to fall naturally over time.
It was also recently revealed that two schools in Runcorn – Westfield Primary and Weston Point Primary Academy – could be merged, also due to falling pupil numbers.
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