Teachers at three schools across Yorkshire will take strike action next week after being forced out of their pastoral roles. Strikes will take place at Graham School in Scarborough on 7th July, and at Vale of York Academy and Manor Church of England Academy in York on 8th July. All schools are part of the Heartwood Learning Trust.
NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union raised concerns about restructure activity in the schools last month, but despite attempted negotiations, Heartwood Learning Trust has now removed 27 teaching staff from their pastoral roles and replaced them with unqualified Learning Managers, who will start in September. As a result, the schools have lost teachers in Head of Year, Progress Leader, Director of Behaviour and Head of House Rewards roles. The teachers are striking to push for their pastoral roles to be reinstated.
Heartwood Learning Trust has previously implemented this new pastoral structure at another school, where it failed and had to be reversed.
Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“Teachers in pastoral roles at these schools have been continuously praised by pupils and Ofsted for their expert skills and support. There is only one reason why an academy trust would seek to replace them with non-teaching staff, and that is to save money. Yet Heartwood Learning Trust appears to have a reserve of £9 million. Why are they tampering with a delicate pastoral care system that clearly works well for staff and pupils?
“There has been no meaningful consultation of staff, unions or parents during the restructure process. Little thought appears to have been given to how two sets of staff from different qualification backgrounds, who will rarely cross paths, will be able to work together effectively.
“Our teachers refuse to be part of another failed experiment in profiteering. They are standing up for themselves and their pupils. Heartwood Learning Trust must reinstate these experienced, caring teachers to their pastoral roles immediately, or risk significant harm to the wellbeing and personal development of its pupils and teachers.”
Tim Toepritz, NASUWT National Executive Member for West and North Yorkshire, said:
“Teachers at Heartwood Learning Trust schools are not asking for the new Learning Managers to be removed; they see their roles progressing and thriving together. There is certainly enough money in the budget for the roles to coexist. Teachers spend all day in classrooms with pupils, building relationships of great depth, and you cannot have effective pastoral care unless it is built on these relationships.
“When pastoral roles for teachers are removed, pathways to development are lost. That means fewer teachers progressing into leadership roles in schools and more experienced teachers lost to the profession through redundancies. Parents and the public already have concerns about non-teaching staff earning extortionate salaries as academy trust leaders and CEOs, and this is yet another move in that frightening direction.
“If the Trust is truly willing to compromise and listen to the experienced teaching staff – who know what the children of this community needs – they can end the strike tomorrow. All they have to do is to put the qualified pastoral staff back alongside the new Learning Managers to make sure that Heartwood Learning Trust pupils get the best possible support.”
