Six days of strikes at St Thomas More School in Buxton over job loss fears

The proposals, affecting 14 of the trust's schools were announced in January and will lead to a number of job losses.

Since then there have already been ten days of action over the dispute and the walk out on Tuesday June, 2 is the first of another six days of protest which will take place on June 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11.

Josie Lloyd, UNISON East Midlands schools lead, said: “These changes have left many staff feeling demoralised and with no other option but to strike.

“Trust bosses have been presented with clear ways to resolve this dispute, but these have been repeatedly ignored. They’ve ridden roughshod through the consultation and redundancy process.

“Staff aren’t asking for more, just to be treated fairly and to be able to do their jobs. It’s not too late to find a solution that avoids further disruption and gives school workers, parents, pupils and the community some peace of mind.”

The union says there is a lack of clarity about how key duties will be covered in the coming months if roles are cut, or how work will be reallocated.

Staff including teaching assistants, one-to-one special-needs support workers, lunchtime supervisors and chaplaincy staff are among those due to take a further six days of strike action over the next two weeks.

UNISON says the dispute highlights some of the poorest treatment of staff it has seen in the past 20 years, with workers describing their treatment as ‘deeply disrespectful’.

In recent months, some employees have reported being excluded entirely from the consultation processes about the restructure, while others say proposals affecting them have been significantly altered without warning or discussion.

More recently, staff have reported receiving incorrect redundancy letters containing colleagues’ names, which the union has described as ‘chaotic and unacceptable’.

The union says talks have made some progress but the trust must take action to resolve the dispute once and for all, and get hardworking education staff back to school.

Kevin Gritton, CEO, said: "Negotiations with trade unions are ongoing and we will be entering our sixth round of meetings with some trade unions this week.

“We are absolutely committed to working at pace to avert any further strike action as we understand the significant impact this is having on pupils and their families.

"Since negotiations started we have made considerable concessions to original proposals put in place, some of these have positively impacted on the position of support staff affected and we are committed to continuing to find ways of doing that but we do have to ensure that all of our schools, and Central Team, are not spending more than we receive in income.

"All staff have been given the opportunity to attend several consultation meetings and we remain open to all offers for discussion in relation to the current process.

“Throughout the process we have responded to any issues raised and will continue to do so."