Unions calls on MP to stand up for local schools in crisis

The local branch of the National Education Union has asked MP Helena Dollimore to stand up for local schools and call for government action to avert a crisis. At the root of the problem is inadequate funding, it says. Nick Terdre reports.

In the wake of the National Education Union’s annual conference, the Hastings District branch has written to local MP Helena Dollimore saying,“…the education system in this constituency is in crisis — and without immediate and sustained funding, it will collapse.

“We urge you to stand up for our schools, our staff, and our students by demanding that the Labour government act now. The cracks we have been warning about for a decade are widening into deep fractures—and nowhere is this more visible than in Hastings and Rye.”

“Every crisis we face in education is a result of inadequate funding,” the letter says. It notes that this time last year Labour MPs were demanding that the then education secretary Gillian Keegan release the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendation on pay. Now the current incumbent, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson,” risks hiding the same evidence.”

Under-funding

Schools have suffered from years of under-funding, though Labour made an above-inflation pay award of 5.5% to teachers after taking power last year. But now possible strike action is looming after a 2.8% pay offer. The union wants to know what the STRB has recommended – its report, which the union says will reveal the true extent of the recruitment and retention crisis, has been sent to Phillipson but not published.

The letter quotes the union head, Daniel Kabede, who told the annual conference this week, “If the STRB [recommendation] is not above inflation — and not fully funded — we will act industrially.”

The NEU insists that any pay award must not come out of the schools’ budget, obliging cuts elsewhere. Phillipson said strikes would be “indefensible.”

“While this is not uncommon, the delay is really beginning to have an impact,” Justin Wynne, the local branch’s  assistant district secretary, told HOT. “It’s causing real anxiety among education staff, as they are left in limbo about what the next steps will be.”

Following the scandal over the appropriation of part of the schools’ budget for other purposes by the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT), which Dollimore  helped to expose, eight schools in Hastings, including both Hastings and St Leonard academies, are waiting to hear which multi-academy trust (MAT) they are to be transferred to. They are also “currently left in limbo. This is the natural result of a fragmented, privatised system with no local democratic control,” the open letter says.

Uncertainty causing concerns

“The uncertainty around this is causing concerns, particularly in the schools that may be transitioning or adjusting under new leadership,” Wynne said.

Among other aspects of the crisis, the letter lists SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), the provision of which is said to be collapsing, while the issue of asbestos, still to be found in some buildings, and the presence of RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete), whose integrity is uncertain, in some buildings has gone unanswered.

“The lack of government action on [asbestos and RAAC] has caused a great deal of stress and anxiety in school communities,” Wynne said. “Staff are worried about the potential risks, and parents are justifiably concerned about the safety of their children.”

The letter asks Dollimore to “be a voice not just for education — but for your constituents.”

It asks her to publicly demand that Phillipson release the STRB report now, to push for a fully funded, above-inflation pay award and to call out the failures of MATs nationally and demand an alternative to academies for UBAT schools.

It also wants her to stand up for SEND funding, staff conditions, and a full reversal of austerity, support the campaign to restore local democratic control of schools and to back NEU calls for the abolition of OFSTED, the school watchdog.

Double standard

“What’s also incredibly frustrating is the double standard we’re seeing between the government’s pre-election promises and the reality now,” Wynne told HOT.

“Before the election, the government made a lot of promises about improving the education system, tackling issues like workload, pay, and school safety. They painted a picture of a government that would prioritise education and work to create a safer, fairer environment for staff and students alike. Yet now, with these same issues still unresolved, the government is failing to follow through.”

HOT has asked the MP for her comments but not received any reply.

Hastings District branch has launched a petition to back its campaign.

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