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Parents stage protests outside North Staffordshire school after 'every teacher leaves'
Parents are staging protests outside a North Staffordshire school amid claims all teachers, teaching assistants and a receptionist have left. They claim lessons at Hutchinson Memorial CE First School in Checkley, near Cheadle, are instead being taught by supply teachers and staff brought in from another school within the multi-academy trust.
Mum Finola Bandrick, who has one child at the 'outstanding' rated school, said since September ‘every single one’ of the teachers left unexpectedly. The 38-year-old has taken the drastic decision to home educate her child instead until a resolution has been reached.
Uttoxeter Learning Trust confirmed to StokeonTrentLive that a number of staff were off sick and 'steps were being to support staff' and 'ensure the education of children is not affected'.
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Finola, a spokesman for the concerned parents, said their issue was not with the school itself but the Uttoxeter Learning Trust. She added: “Every single one of the teachers has left. My son cried himself to sleep. He heard that his teacher had left and he was really worried about him. I will now be home schooling my child until something is sorted.
“We know the staff haven’t done anything wrong. None of them would have taken the decision to go lightly.
"The parents have not got a problem with the teachers or the school. It’s still an amazing school because of all the groundwork the staff have put in over the years. It was rated outstanding by Ofsted two years ago.
“I wanted my kids to go there because I liked the whole family ethos and the behaviour of the children is impeccable. You only have to go to the school and look at the children running into school to see how amazing it is.
“The Trust wants to change everything that was working so well. They’ve up-turned a perfectly brilliant school.”
Parents were invited to a meeting at the end of February after many had raised concerns about staff welfare to the Uttoxeter Learning Trust leadership.
Finola, who works as a primary school teacher elsewhere, said: “At the meeting the Trust promised us that they wouldn’t lose any more members of staff. They said staff welfare is a massive concern.
"Since the meeting more staff have left. It’s been over two months since the meeting, and they’ve been aware since November. If the children were a priority then why haven’t they done anything about it? As parents we need to do something.
“I keep reiterating, what has changed since September 2023? What the hell is going on in our brilliant school?”
A spokesperson for Uttoxeter Learning Trust said: “The welfare of our pupils and staff, as well as providing a high-quality education is our absolute priority. Unfortunately, we have had a number of staff from Hutchinson Memorial CE First School off sick and have been taking steps to support these staff as well as ensure the education of our children is not affected. To do this, we are drawing on the expertise of other local teachers from within the Trust.
“We understand parents’ concerns, and as well as sending regular newsletters and responding to their queries about this issue, we have already met with a number of them to ensure they are fully informed and to reassure them that we are doing our very best to mitigate any impact.
"We are committed to supporting our staff, hearing the concerns of parents and ensuring we communicate clearly to them regarding the actions we are taking to achieve this. We will continue to keep them informed of the situation and do everything we can to keep on giving our pupils a high-quality education.”
Research by the NASUWT found four in five teachers had experienced more work-related stress in the last year, as the union declared a mental health emergency in Britain’s schools. The union’s annual survey of 11,752 members suggests 86% of teachers believe their job has adversely affected their mental health in the last 12 months.
