Staff at Isle of Wight schools threatened with closure could take part in possible strike action, unions have warned.
Five trade unions, representing ‘thousands of school workers on the Island’. wrote to the Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet yesterday (Tuesday), urging them to call off a ‘potentially catastrophic’ decision to close five primary schools.
Representatives from the National Education Union (NEU), UNISON, NASUWT, NAHT and GMB said unions are currently ‘in the process of initiating indicative/consultative ballots for industrial action’, following member requests.
It comes just days before Alliance administration cabinet members are scheduled to reach final decisions on the closures of Arreton St Georges CE Primary School, Brading CE Primary School, Cowes Primary School, Oakfield CE Primary and Wroxall Primary School.
The email, signed by Duncan Morrison (NEU) Mark Chiverton (UNISON), Mark Dickinson (NASUWT), Dom Kingsmill-Stocker (NAHT) and Liam Cumming (GMB), says closures would affect ‘thousands of children’s lives’, make ‘hundreds of staff redundant’ and damage ‘perhaps irrevocably, five communities on the Island’.
The email said:
“Since we last wrote to you, the full council has discussed the school place planning issue but, in its indicative votes, it failed to give a clear mandate to proceed with the proposed closures.
“It is clear that, should you decide to proceed, the decision will rest entirely on cabinet members and since you were unable to persuade the council at large it follows that it would be inappropriate to proceed with the current proposals.
“We reiterate that we believe that the selection of the schools, the initial consultation and the report put to cabinet based on that consultation are all flawed and open to legal challenge.
“We are in agreement with the rationale laid out by the Diocese of Portsmouth in their letter and believe, as they do, that the consultation process has not been of sufficient rigour, has lacked detail and transparency, has made factual inaccuracies and conflated these at times with others and has not undertaken the necessary due process for any decision to be able to stand.”
The memo asks the cabinet to ‘instigate an immediate review’ to examine the ‘proper resourcing of education on the Island’ to ‘protect and improve’ children’s education.
It also calls for a report created from the review to be given to full council for a debate on its recommendations.
Any future plans should be ‘discussed and negotiated’ with unions ‘in good time’ to protect members’ jobs and the ‘skills and professionalism they deliver’.
A cabinet report due to be presented at Thursday’s meeting recommends all five schools are closed.
It reads:
“In the cabinet report from last December, we highlighted several key issues and challenges faced by Island schools due to a declining pupil population and the resulting impact of falling rolls.
“The council and school leaders have been collaborating closely to manage this situation, particularly as some schools face significant risks to their financial sustainability.
“Without financial stability, the resources needed to maintain a diverse and appropriately delivered curriculum are compromised, making it increasingly difficult for these schools to deliver high standards of education.
“At times, the effective management of school places will include the need to remove surplus places and/or expand provision to ensure overall provision aligns with forecast need.
“Due to a significant reduction in birth rates on the Island, action is recommended in the primary phase to ensure demand and capacity are aligned and we continue to provide the best outcomes for children, which is the focus of this report.”
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