'Dedicated staff are now facing huge job losses due to trust's catastrophic failures'

WORKERS AT EIGHT SCHOOLS TO STRIKE OVER JOB CUTS

- By ZENA HAWLEY

TEACHERS at eight schools in a Catholic academy trust, including one in Burton, are preparing to go on strike because of potential jobs cuts which they say will "decimate schools".

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) across the schools in the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, headquartered in Derby, have announced eight days of strike action. Some support staff have already taken two days of action last month.

The trust, which has schools in Derby, Derbyshire, East Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire, has a reported deficit of over £10 million, which is the largest of any trust in England, according to the NEU.

It has already been subject to intervention by the Department for Education, which has led to changes across senior management with a number of people leaving the trust.

The NEU says that teachers are being made redundant across multiple schools, removing responsibility payments, downgrading jobs, and slashing the pay, conditions, and jobs of the lowest-paid support staff.