Teachers at Cardinal Allen High in Fleetwood strike over plans to turn Catholic school into academy

Teachers and support staff at Cardinal Allen Catholic High School in Fleetwood have taken strike action over plans to turn the school into an academy and join a Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (MAT).

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) walked out on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 September, alongside staff at Corpus Christi Catholic High School in Preston.

The disputes follow a policy announced by the Bishop of Lancaster, the Rt Rev Paul Swarbrick, for Catholic schools across the Diocese of Lancaster to convert to academy status and join Multi-Academy Trusts.

Staff involved in the dispute said their opposition was not to Catholic education, but to successful schools being required to give up local control. They also raised concerns about the potential educational and financial consequences of joining a MAT.

At Cardinal Allen, NEU members have previously taken strike action over the proposed conversion. Staff said the school had already seriously considered academy status but had concluded that becoming an academy was not in its interests.

The union said representatives were particularly concerned about the financial implications of joining a MAT. NEU representatives estimate that the additional funding taken from the school's budget to pay for central MAT services could equate to around five teaching posts.

Nat Kerray, an NEU representative, said the school had previously examined becoming an academy but decided against it because of the financial cost, potential loss of teachers and impact on pupils.

Ian Watkinson, Secretary of Lancashire NEU, said: “Nobody working in education takes strike action lightly. Our members care passionately about their pupils, their schools and the Catholic communities they serve. But they are being asked to accept fundamental and irreversible changes without being convinced that those changes will benefit the children they teach.

“These are successful schools. So there is a very simple question for the Bishop and the Diocese to answer: what educational problem is forced academisation supposed to solve? Taking money and decision-making away from successful local schools and transferring them to central MAT structures needs a compelling educational justification. Our members have yet to hear one.

“There is still time for the Bishop and the Diocese to listen to their staff, governors and school communities and engage in genuine dialogue. Our members would much rather be teaching their pupils than standing on a picket line.”

Striking members from Cardinal Allen and Corpus Christi also held a joint demonstration outside Lancaster Cathedral at 10am on Tuesday 22 September. The demonstration called on Bishop Paul Swarbrick and the Diocese of Lancaster to reconsider the policy of compulsory academisation and engage directly with staff and their representatives.