Spring Meadow School, make nearly a third of all support staff redundant before the end of term.

Spring Meadow school, an infant and nursery school with an assessment unit in Ely plans to make nearly a third of all support staff redundant before the end of term.
Spring Meadow school launched a three week long consultation with all support staff on 11.6.18, proposing to lose 19 support staff, with 22 jobs at risk. Spring Meadow School cites a falling school role and subsequent loss of £80 thousand pounds of school funding as the rationale for the proposed job cuts.
Currently there are 65 non teaching job roles (some staff have more than one role) and it is proposed to reduce this to 48 job roles, with a new structure in place for September 2018.
The majority of posts proposed for redundancy are staff directly supporting children’s learning and welfare, mainly amongst teaching assistants, with midday assistants and supervisors and school facilities staff also facing job losses. Other posts planned to have reduction in hours include nursery lunchtime club, administrative staff and the family support worker.
The majority of the support staff at risk at the school are UNISON members and they fear the effects of the redundancies upon the welfare and education of the children at Spring Meadow School. The end of consultation has now been shifted to 2nd July, with staff due to hear if they have lost their jobs ten days before the end of term.
Julia Drummond, an organiser from Unison Cambs County branch said: “We believe these cuts to be sort sighted due to the imminent  housing development at Kings Meadow, which will soon increase the pupil numbers at Spring Meadow School. A local authority school such as Spring Meadow could bolster their finances with a deficit budget until numbers increase, rather than lose experienced staff who work hard to do their best for all the children at the school”
Management claim that the school is “over staffed” which is hotly disputed by Unison and their members at the school.
Julia Drummond said: “We are gravely concerned that parents and the local community have had no say or involvement in the the proposal to lose 19 roles supporting children’s welfare and learning at Spring Meadow School. Currently they are unaware of the proposals and are due to find out after the redundancies have been made. This consultation appears to be a rush job.”
Press Release from Julia Drummond Unison Cambs County branch