Staff at in Surrey are striking for the first time in its 99-year-history, in the same week that strikes were due to begin at Roedean School in Brighton.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) who work at the 670-pupil Ewell Castle School have already walked out on April 24, but are expected to do so again on Tuesday and Wednesday, then on May 7 to 9, .
The action at the school comes following a dispute about the school’s plans for a phased withdrawal from the Teachers鈥 Pension Scheme, which principal Silas Edmonds said was now “no longer affordable” after costs had risen 70 per cent in the past five years.
Mr Edmonds stressed that the school would remain open during the strikes “despite the challenges in doing so” and that support staff and a number of non-striking teachers had “rallied around our children”.
The planned strikes at Ewell Castle come as it was reported that NEU members at Roedean School in Brighton are also due to strike this week (April 30), then for five days in May.
A new revealed that the dispute at Roedean is about proposed changes to teachers鈥 pensions but also the prospect of pay cuts and some 28 redundancies under a restructuring programme.
According to the article, Roedean鈥檚 governors have proposed a cap on the school鈥檚 contribution to the Teachers鈥 Pension Scheme to 22 per cent, with teachers asked to make up the shortfall to 28.68 per cent through their wage packets.
According to the BBC, Roedean School has disputed the number of possible redundancies reported by the NEU and said: “We are currently looking at how to manage costs in a fair way that does not impact on the overall high quality of education here.”
It added that it was continuing “to discuss proposals with colleagues to work towards a resolution and avoid strike action”.
Redundancies in Scotland
Elsewhere over the weekend, it emerged that Scotland鈥檚 oldest boarding school 鈥 Loretto in Musselburgh near Edinburgh 鈥 has proposed cutting up to eight teaching posts, due to the impact of VAT on fees.
The school said that voluntary redundancy had been offered as an option and that it was not aware of any plans for industrial action over the issue.
Blaming increasing financial pressures for the move, Pete Richardson, Loretto鈥檚 head, told School Management Plus: “Last week I had the difficult task of speaking to colleagues about plans to reduce聽the number of academic staff across the school. This process may impact up to eight聽individuals, each a valued member of our close-knit community.
“This is not something I would ever want to do, let alone in my first year as head. Throughout the process, the wellbeing of our colleagues and the quality of education we provide to our pupils are our key priorities. We are deeply committed to ensuring that the people impacted are treated with the utmost kindness, care and consideration.鈥
Strike ballots
The recent wave of industrial action in England comes after it was revealed that the NEU had held 23 formal strike ballots across the independent sector this year, compared to 27 in the much larger state academies sector.
There are also ongoing disputes over pay reported at Coventry School Foundation, which runs Bablake and King Henry VIII School in Coventry and ten of United Learning鈥檚 14 independent schools.
The discontent of independent school teachers and unions comes as an NEU survey revealed a quarter of private school teachers received no pay rise this academic year.
As schools struggle to get to grips with the impact of VAT on fees, increases to pension contributions, National Insurance and business rates, most are making hard decisions on where to make savings.
Since January 1 when VAT on fees came into effect, a total of 18 independent schools have announced closure plans, with many citing VAT as a factor.
樱花动漫 has approached Roedean for further comment.
