Industrial action escalates at Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton High Schools, as union leaders warn of damaging impacts to students and staff. SAST defends restructure as essential to safeguarding sixth form provision.
While only five members of staff from Sturminster Newton High School were officially on strike on Tuesday 15th July, they were joined on the school picket line by union members from Shaftesbury, with representatives from both the NEU and NASUWT present. Shaftesbury School has seen larger-scale disruption, with planned strikes continuing. Both schools are part of the Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST).
The issue at the heart of the dispute is a proposal to reduce costs by sharing leadership roles – including Heads of Department – across the two sites. Teachers say this will create unsustainable workloads and damage the quality of education. SAST argues it is the only viable alternative to closing one of the sixth forms altogether.
Speaking at the picket line, Amy Brinsden, Joint Branch Secretary for the NEU Dorset, told The BV later the same day:
“We met with the trust representatives this morning. Unfortunately, we were not able to reach a point where we felt that the strike action could be suspended. The main issue is that of shared Heads of Departments across the two schools. The trust is yet to provide a compelling case as to why it is necessary, and our members remain deeply concerned about the negative impact this will have on students and staff.
“Our members are committed to ensuring the best educational outcomes for the students at Shaftesbury and Sturminster. They will continue to challenge any change they feel jeopardises that. Although we understand the need to balance budgets, cuts to frontline staff are not the answer.”
Andy Nichols, regional secretary for the NASUWT, described the move as “a logistical nightmare,” warning that dividing Head of Department roles between two schools nine miles apart would place additional pressure on already overstretched teachers: ‘Fundamentally, people are really concerned that they’re not going to be able to give the kids at the school the best education, that their ability to do that is being diluted by the plans that the Trust are putting in place.’
SAST has defended the changes as both necessary and carefully considered.
“Shaftesbury School and Sturminster Newton High School have recently undergone a restructuring process, designed to ensure long-term financial sustainability and to strengthen our ability to drive up educational standards across both schools,” the Trust said in a statement.
“Between the two schools they were facing a budget deficit of £1m, so we commissioned an independent SRMA (School Resource Management Adviser) report in conjunction with the DfE. These are the same financial challenges being faced by many rural secondary schools.
“We believe that sixth forms should remain in our local communities, and we are therefore looking to share some leadership roles across the two schools to reduce overheads whilst encouraging collaboration between them.
“We respect the right of staff to take industrial action, and we continue to engage in constructive dialogue with union colleagues. Our commitment remains to act in the best long-term interests of pupils and staff.”
A source close to the school’s governors confirmed that money pressures have been mounting across the sector.
“If Stur wasn’t in deficit before, it was certainly heading that way within a year,” they said. “SAST hasn’t made it worse, but people always point to senior salaries. The trust could have taken the easy option and closed the sixth form – but they haven’t. They’ve actually turned things around a great deal. The culture and respect at Sturminster are far better than they were before.”
Union concerns centre on the removal of key leadership roles from the Shaftesbury site. Under the new structure, the posts of Head of English, Maths and Science will no longer be present at each school, with those responsibilities instead shared across both sites. Staff believe this will make it significantly harder to maintain the quality of teaching, and to respond to the specific needs of students and communities in each school.
The restructuring has also resulted in the redundancy of experienced subject leaders – some of whom have worked at the school for decades – prompting frustration over what unions see as a mismatch between executive-level pay and cuts to frontline roles. There are also unresolved questions around what non-staffing savings have been made and whether leadership costs have been sufficiently scrutinised.
As the dispute deepened over restructure, Matt Wrack, acting general secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said: “Experienced teachers are often the first to go. The restructure at Shaftesbury School mirrors a worrying trend in education: when schools need to save money, experienced teachers are often the first to go. Experienced teachers bring a wealth of irreplaceable wisdom and skill to their classrooms. Not only are they subject experts, but they are essential as mentors for early career teachers, and the long term relationships they build with local communities are worth their weight in gold. It is unacceptable that academy trusts continue to discard such valuable teachers when their CEOs often earn more than the Prime Minister.’
Teachers were present on both picket lines, but only union representatives were permitted to speak to the media. They warned that the pace and scale of the changes could leave some students without subject-specialist teaching in core subjects, and undermine long-standing pastoral relationships.
Union leaders have laid out a clear three-point request to the Trust:
– Halt the implementation of shared Head of Department roles between schools
– Fully explore and respond to alternative cost-saving proposals already submitted
– Return to the negotiating table for transparent discussions before the new academic year
A petition launched by Shaftesbury sixth form pupils gained 300 names before a group of them attempted to hand-deliver it to the SAST offices – only for the Sherborne Area Schools Trust to fail to answer the door to receive their petition. Meanwhile, the union representatives say that more than a hundred letters of support from parents have been sent directly to SAST leaders and shared on social media, many voicing concern about the loss of experienced staff and the wider impact on school morale. Adding political weight to the issue, Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare joined teachers on the picket line in Shaftesbury this week.
Union members say they remain hopeful that a resolution can be found before the new academic year.
“We have presented the trust with alternative solutions,” said Amy Brinsden. “We ask that they explore those options. We remain committed to ongoing discussion.”
