Parents criticise trust at heart of school strike

5 hours ago

Shannen HeadleyWest Midlands

News image — Cheryl Windeler raised concerns that the trust was spending money that was not in support of education

Handout A woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera — Cheryl Windeler raised concerns that the trust was spending money that was not in support of education

Parents have criticised the trust that runs a group of 20 West Midlands schools where teachers have gone on strike.

Staff at schools in the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) have walked out over planned job cuts.

Mum Cheryl Windeler said she was "totally supportive" of teachers who have extended strike action from nine days to 18, and she felt her child's school had "gone down the drain" since ATLP took it over.

ATLP's trust said it needed to take action due to "significant overstaffing", which had been masked by an accounting error.

Windeler, who has a child in Year 4 at St Chad's Primary School in Lichfield, Staffordshire, told the BBC: "I'm really angry that our school was taken and given to this academy in the first place. We have had three or four years of watching it go down the drain because of ATLP.

"Staff know what's happening but yet they have no voice. People might be cross with them for striking, but I don't know what else they're supposed to do."

The ATLP's trust said it continued to tackle the financial challenges so that it could "bring stability to the trust and schools" as quickly as possible

It previously said the need to cut staff was the result of "significant overstaffing", which a spokesperson said had been caused by an accounting error in 2022-23.

Windeler raised concerns about the trust spending money irresponsibly.

She claimed: "The trust bought all staff and all children iPads a few years ago, when they already knew they were in financial difficulty and seemingly as part of that they've been to California.

"They also went to a conference in Dubai. Not sure why they needed to physically attend.

"The executive's pay is reported to be nearly £2m. All of that money should be going toward and into schools and it's not.

"I don't know how any of that has got anything to do with supporting education."

Handout A man in a green sweatshirt with short black and grey hair smiling in front of a lake — Rick Thomas said he was concerned his two sons may not finish their GCSE syllabuses

Rick Thomas, who has two sons in their GCSE years at Arthur Terry School in Sutton Coldfield, said while he was initially was really sceptical about the strikes - he was now on board.

He said: "Like many parents you just assume the teachers might not be right here.

"But it doesn't take that much investigation with what information we can find publicly to see these central costs are unusually high compared with similar schools.

"So then you think, maybe cutting classroom staff really isn't the first response and the trust should be looking more centrally at what they could do.

"We're not having the transparency that we need to understand what exactly they are spending on a per school basis."

A statement from trust said it had already implemented a programme of "signifier change".

It said: "This includes identifying numerous savings, continuing to review every area of expenditure and appointing external and experienced senior leaders.

"We also continue to engage constructively with the [National Education Union] and while further strikes have been scheduled, arrangements remain in place to ensure all pupils can continue their learning."

Lots of men and women standing outside in a town square protesting — Striking teachers attended a demonstration in Birmingham's Victoria Square, over the dispute about plans to cut jobs

But Thomas said he was "anxious" about whether his children would be able to complete their syllabus this year.

He said: "You get one shot at this to set you up for the rest of your life.

"I'd like to see Year 11 students being prioritised."

The trust's statement added: "Our schools, pupils and families are at the heart of every decision and process in place.

"We remain committed to resolving this dispute as swiftly as possible and doing everything we can to support a stronger and more sustainable future for our schools."