AN education trust has said strikes by teachers are “deeply regrettable”.
Staff at the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) are taking part in their second day of industrial action over plans for redundancies.
The National Education Union said its members had overwhelmingly backed the walkouts.
But a spokesperson for the ATLP said the organisation would seek “constructive talks” in a bid to find a solution which would prevent further disruption for students.
They said:
“We are committed to tackling the financial challenges we face so that we bring stability to the trust and schools as quickly as possible, while at the same time maintaining the high standards of education and care that our pupils and their families deserve and expect.
“Returning to a financially sustainable position means taking some difficult decisions. We continue to explore every area of expenditure and have identified numerous savings through reducing non-staffing costs.
“To ensure we move forward rapidly and are secure long-term, we have also started a consultation on a restructure of the organisation.
“We are continuing to implement a programme of significant change to improve the trust’s financial position, including appointing a new interim finance director to provide oversight on how decisions are made and evaluated.
“Hundreds of children and young people are again not able to attend school today because of the ongoing NEU-organised strikes. This is deeply regrettable, with pupils missing vital days in school and parents hugely inconvenienced.
“To ensure pupils not able to go to school can continue their education, high-quality remote learning has again been arranged. We are doing all we can to resolve the dispute as swiftly as possible and continue to seek constructive talks with the NEU.”
The trust has also confirmed that Scotch Orchard Primary and Anna Seward are fully closed as part of the strikes.
Meanwhile, a number of schools are partially closed, but open to vulnerable pupils or exam years, including St Chad’s CE Primary School, St Michael’s CE Primary School and Nether Stowe School.
Further strike dates are scheduled to take place on:
- 20th January
- 21st January
- 22nd January
- 26th January
- 27th January
- 28th January
- 29th January
