Teaching assistants and midday supervisors at Pot Kiln Primary School in Suffolk will walk out next week to stop “damaging” job cuts, UNISON announces today.
Workers at the school in Great Cornard, near Sudbury, will strike next Thursday (20 April) and again on 24 April over plans to slash 10 jobs.
School leaders say they need to sack the staff to deal with a £75,000 deficit and a projected drop in student numbers, adding that Pot Kiln has more classroom assistants than other schools of a similar size.
But UNISON points out that the staff are needed to assist the high numbers of students with special educational needs, while the cuts — wiping out around 26% of support staff hours — far outweigh the expected 8% fall in pupils.
UNISON Eastern regional organiser Winston Dorsett said: “These cuts will be hugely damaging to pupils’ education. There’s simply no way to slash this many staff and continue to provide children with the support they need.
“These staff love Pot Kiln and they love their community. They’re devastated at the thought they’ll have to take industrial action but they’ve been left with no choice if they want to keep supporting children’s education.
“We still hope the school and Suffolk County Council will come to their senses and find the cash to prevent these harmful cuts.”
