Unions braced for £3m cuts to Islington school services

Published: 23 July, 2010
by RÓISÍN GADELRAB

TRUANCY officers, specialist schools advisors, Black History Month staff and up to 17 teachers are in the firing line as Islington Council looks for ways to cope with a £3million cut to its children’s services budget.

Cambridge Education (CE) – the private company that runs Islington’s schools – is consulting with staff and unions on plans to axe up to 49 posts.

Overall, government cuts to Children’s Services grants amount to £3.1m but CE will be hit by losing £2.3m of grants this year. The redundancy plan is expected to save CE £900,000.

The cuts are one of the largest pieces of “bad news” set to be announced at a special council meeting next Tuesday, where further details of the funding shortfall are expected to be revealed.

Unions have already insisted they will resist any plans that will affect frontline services.

As CE’s own consultation document says: “It is not... possible to meet the level of budget reductions required without significant impact on staff numbers.”

Meetings are planned with staff and unions next week. National Union of Teachers (NUT) branch secretary Ken Muller said: “We regard all the jobs being cut as essential and not backroom jobs. Cutting them will have a serious adverse effect on the educational provision for pupils. We do not accept that teachers and pupils in Islington should have to pay the cost of bailing out the banks responsible for the economic crisis.”

He said the unions were “disappointed” that the Town Hall had not done more to resist the cuts, adding: “We will take whatever action we can to resist the cuts.”

CE has already introduced a recruitment freeze and is auditing the use of agency staff. Through leaving vacant posts empty £500,000 has been saved, including £125,000 from a service director role.

One visiting music teacher, a pupil voice and participation champion, a senior educational therapist and a teenage coordinator are among the posts affected.

Two full-time education welfare officers, described as a combination of a truancy officer and a social worker, could also have their posts deleted.

Islington Council Schools chief Councillor Richard Watts said: “The council isn’t going to be ending its work in any of the affected areas but that work is going to be carried out by fewer people.”

He added: “The proposed redundancies are directly as a result of the government’s cuts to council funding.”

A CE spokesman said: “Cuts from central government are having a direct impact on funding for some posts. Because of the need to find major savings, redundancies may unfortunately be necessary, with potentially 49 staff affected.

“Consultation has begun with employees and trade union representatives. Staff are being kept fully informed at this difficult time. Every effort is being made to protect our most vital services, and we are working very hard to protect schools so they will not lose any money this year.”

He added: “Islington Council, and Cambridge Education on behalf of the council, has historically passed on all grants directly to schools or to services for schools, so they have the biggest impact on improving life chances. Because of this, there is little alternative but to achieve the savings required by government policy by staff reductions where posts are wholly or mainly funded by the grants either cut or under threat.”