Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union will continue strike action at Shaftesbury School this week as Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST) refuses to come back to the negotiating table.
SAST has made a number of teachers redundant in a cost-cutting exercise and now expects Heads of Department to be shared between Shaftesbury School and Sturminster Newton High School.
Teachers at Shaftesbury School will hit the picket lines on Tuesday 8th and Thursday 10th July, and will enjoy renewed public support after a video from last week’s picket line went viral on TikTok over the weekend. In the video, Shaftesbury teacher Rachel Sammons explains the “traumatic” impact of losing her job as Head of English after working at the school for twenty five years. Thousands of people, including her ex-pupils, have commented to share their shock and dismay at the cuts.
Matt Wrack, Acting General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“The brutal restructure at Shaftesbury School mirrors a worrying trend in education: when schools need to save money, experienced teachers are often the first to go.
“Experienced teachers bring a wealth of irreplaceable wisdom and skill to their classrooms. Not only are they subject experts, but they are essential as mentors for early career teachers, and the long term relationships they build with local communities are worth their weight in gold. It is unacceptable that academy trusts continue to discard such valuable teachers when their CEOs often earn more than the Prime Minister.
“We are asking SAST to get back around the table as a matter of urgency. Consigning expert teachers to the scrap heap is detrimental to the education of pupils and to the teaching profession as a whole.”
Mike Leigh, National Executive Member for Dorset, said:
“SAST is trying to split Head of Department teachers across two schools when they are nine miles apart. This is a logistical nightmare.
“When one teacher has to cover two jobs, other teachers will be expected to absorb extra workload. This is unacceptable when the average teacher already works around fifty hours per week. This restructure appears to prioritise cost cutting over teachers’ wellbeing and pupils’ education.
“We had meetings with SAST, but suddenly they pulled back. All we’re asking is that they reopen negotiations so we can try to find a solution that works for everyone. We are The Teachers’ Union – we won’t give in.”
