Hastings teachers stage strikes outside several schools in town

The National Education Union (NEU) said strikes are being held today (Monday, July 1) and tomorrow (Tuesday, July 2).

Picket lines have formed outside The Hastings Academy, St Leonards Academy, Baird Primary Academy and Robsack Primary Academy.

A rally is also planned for 11am on Tuesday in Hastings town centre.

The NEU said members are taking strike action in a dispute over workload and job cuts linked to school funding across the University of Brighton Academies Trust.

Jenny Sutton, secretary of the Hastings District of the NEU, was at the picket line outside Baird Primary Academy today.

She said: “We are not happy that not enough money is reaching the school from the trust.

"There are not enough TAs at this school (Baird) and there have been cuts in staff. This means the education of the kids is really badly affected.”

The union said negotiations have resulted in the trust agreeing to radically change its funding model for its schools, but it added that teachers and support staff in schools have not got the assurances they need that only the central trust, not the schools themselves will pay for the changes.

Further assurances over support staff numbers have also not been obtained, the NEU said.

Ahead of this week’s strikes, Phil Clarke, East Sussex Branch Secretary and Vice-President, said: “We are pleased the trust has agreed to radically change its funding system to address our members’ workload concerns and to make sure that never again can they take such huge sums of money out of their schools.

"However, members are not satisfied with how long this will take to correct and the lack of a clear commitment from the trust that other school budgets will not be raided to pay for this.

“It is also clear that to win back the trust of staff and parents who have shown huge support for our action, there must be an accounting for the decisions taken.

“These decisions have left thousands of children in schools that have been dramatically underfunded. If schools were still run by the local authority this simply would not be happening.”

A spokesperson for the University of Brighton Academies Trust said: “We remain committed to ongoing negotiations with the NEU to prevent future industrial action from taking place. We will continue to keep our community informed about any developments.

“We appreciate the understanding and patience of our parents and carers.”