Summary
Some of the staff at three of eight Gloucestershire schools run by the troubled SAND Academies Trust could lose their jobs. The trust, which has had financial problems, has begun a formal consultation process for what it says is “a limited number of proposed redundancies” across the three schools and its central team.
Details
The trust is based at The Milestone Primary School in Gloucester, and it is one of the three schools affected by the planned job cuts. The others are Calton Primary School in Gloucester and Battledown School in Cheltenham. A mix of staff roles are at risk across the schools and the central team.
A trust spokeswoman said she was unable to give any more details at this stage. She said, in a statement: “Earlier this year, the Department for Education issued SAND Academies Trust with a Notice to Improve because of its financial position. Since then, we have been working on the steps needed to put the Trust back on a secure and sustainable financial footing.
“As part of that work, we have had to look carefully at our costs and have now begun a formal consultation on a limited number of proposed redundancies across three of our schools and the central team. “We know that any proposed redundancy has a significant impact on the colleagues involved and we are handling this process with great care.
“All affected colleagues have been contacted directly, and the consultation will continue throughout September and early October. We have been clear with staff that no final decisions have yet been made.
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“Our priority throughout is to protect the quality of education and support we provide to our pupils, while making the changes needed to secure the schools’ sustainably for the future.” The eight schools, which are in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Cirencester and Stroud, had their futures thrown into doubt after the SAND Academies Trust revealed in May that the Government had ordered it to take action to deal with the issue.
The trust has since assured parents and children that their educational future will be secured, announcing in June that the schools should switch to new trusts. Then in July, it named the trusts that the Department for Education had recommended the schools should join. They were Lift Schools for Willow Primary Academy, Tredworth Infant and Nursery Academy and Calton Primary & Pre-School.
All three are mainstream schools in Gloucester. The Enable Trust is being recommended for Belmont School and Battledown School, which are special schools in Cheltenham and for the Sladewood Academy, which is a special school in Stroud. The DfE said that the Reach South Academy Trust should take over Paternoster School in Cirencester and The Milestone School in Gloucester.
What You Need to Know
“All affected colleagues have been contacted directly, and the consultation will continue throughout September and early October. We have been clear with staff that no final decisions have yet been made.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester
