• Coronavirus: Unions report academy trust to health and safety watchdog over 'unsafe' return of pupils

    One of England’s largest academy trusts has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive over allegations it put employees and pupils at “serious and imminent risk” by allowing more pupils to return too early. The David Ross Education Trust (DRET) has also been accused of failing to inform staff at one of its schools…

    14.55 Jun. 2nd, 2020 | News

  • Alternative provision academy trust turns to online learning to make savings

    An academy trust in charge of 11 alternative provision academies intends to increase its use of online learning as part of a plan to cut more than £2.5 million from its budget, it has emerged. The TBAP trust, which runs AP academies in London, Essex, Cambridgeshire and the North West, is planning widespread cost-cutting measures after…

    16.45 Sep. 21st, 2018 | News

  • Unison: Redundancies forcing school support staff to fill the gaps

    Over 70 per cent of school support staff are being forced to take on tasks that used to be performed by a colleague on more pay, as school funding cuts continue to bite, according to one of the UK’s largest trade unions. In May Unison carried out a UK-wide survey of 12,120 school support staff,…

    0.01 Sep. 4th, 2018 | News

  • Hinds challenged over 'dangerously inadequate' SEND funding

    A coalition of trade unions and 39 local authorities have written to the education secretary to warn of “dangerously inadequate funding” for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The School Cuts Coalition was first formed in November 2016 and now includes NEU, NAHT, ASCL, Unison, GMB and Unite. In a letter to Damian Hinds, the…

    0.01 Jun. 18th, 2018 | News

  • TAs miss out on training as funding plummets

    Nearly half of teaching assistants claim to have received no training from their schools within the last year as schools cut back to save money. In a survey of 4,500 school support staff, 53.3 per cent of classroom-based staff said their school’s money for training had dropped in the last 12 months, and 45.1 per…

    14.09 May. 25th, 2018 | News

  • School catering staff feel excluded, undervalued and poorly trained

    Over a third of school caterers feel excluded as members of staff and more than a quarter feel undervalued, a survey has revealed. Research by the trade union Unison found that 35 per cent of kitchen staff felt excluded in their schools, and 27 per cent admitted they didn’t feel valued within the school meals…

    17.25 Jan. 11th, 2018 | News

  • School support staff have borne the brunt of funding cuts

    Over a thousand parents, teachers, school support staff and head teachers attended the school cuts lobby of Parliament on Tuesday, to bring the message to MPs that 88% of our schools are seriously underfunded. The fantasy that emanates from the Government that there are huge efficiency savings still to be made, and that it is…

    5.00 Oct. 25th, 2017 | Opinion