Nine schools in the East Midlands closed as strike action gets underway
It is over planned cuts to staffing and pay
Nine schools in the East Midlands are closed this morning as teachers take to the picket line over planned cuts to jobs and pay.
The National Education Union has proposed 8 days of strike action, with the first 2 taking place this week.
Why are staff striking?
The NEU said 67 jobs are being made redundant across 14 schools as the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust.
They also told us the Trust was in 'serious financial trouble', with a deficit of more than £9 million. They said that is the biggest deficit in the country.
Staff are concerned that cutting jobs will lead to less support in classrooms as well as class sizes rising.
'Big impact on the children'
Tom is one of the teachers who will be on the picket line: "If these cuts come into force, it is going to have a big impact on the children.
"We are hoping these two days of closures this week will be enough to get people talking.
"We want to safeguard the long-term futures of the schools and for the benefit of our children. We are just hoping that parents are understanding why we are doing it," they said.
'Pursue all possible options'
Kevin Gritton, CEO at the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, said: "We are deeply sorry for any distress caused around proposed staffing changes at some of our schools and we recognise the impact of strike action on pupils and families.
"We continue to pursue all possible options with Union colleagues and with staff in each school but we do have to ensure that the overall Trust budget is in a balanced position come September 1st 2026.
'Reduce costs and increase income'
"We have already implemented and continue to focus on other areas where we can reduce costs and increase income. Ultimately, we have to ensure that all of our schools, and our Central Team, are spending in line with the income that we receive and that we are operating within DfE benchmarks.
"We will continue to hold discussions with Union colleagues and will seek to avert any strike action."