Staff and parents protest over planned cuts at a Lewes primary school

Staff, parents and pupils were joined by Lewes MP James MacCleary and local councillors on the picket line outside the school on Wednesday morning.

Members of the National Union of Education (NUE) voted unanimously in favour of strike action. Members are opposed to the redundancies and have concerns about how the cuts will affect workload and the service the school can provide.

An NUE spokesman said: "In response to our demands, our employer presented us with an updated proposal.

"They now propose to reduce our permanent teaching assistant (TA) positions from seven to six and will not renew the employment of four other members of our support team, who are employed on fixed term contracts and via supply agencies.Three of these TAs are individual needs assistants (INAs), and one is a TA.

"Crucially, this still leaves one redundancy from our (permanent) support staff and our overall support team dropping from 11 positions to 6, which will have a serious effect on workload.

"We cannot accept any compulsory redundancies and will fight against these cuts for the sake of our school and your children!"

On behalf of worried parents, Beth Gascoyne said: "We are deeply concerned about the impact the proposed redundancies will have on the quality of education provided by Western Road as well as staff workload and wellbeing."

The school's chair of governors wrote to parents on March 7 warning that the school's income was set to fall 'substantially' next year and was not forecast to recover in the years ahead.

And a warning was issued that the school would be 'in substantial deficit' in each of the next three years. Families were told this would amount to about £180,000 by 2027-28.

James MacCleary, MP for Lewes, joined striking staff and concerned parents at the protest.

He said: “Slashing staff numbers at a thriving and oversubscribed school is short-sighted and damaging. Pushing problems down the chain to secondary schools by reducing early-years support will cost more in the long run and harm children’s future success.

"Schools should be nurturing children at the start of their education journey, not stripping away the very resources that help them thrive.

"This approach won’t save money — it will simply create bigger challenges and higher costs later on.

"As a dad, I know how important a well-resourced school is to my children, and every child deserves that same support and opportunity."

Local Town Councillor for the area, Kevin West, added: “The reduction in support staff hits the most vulnerable pupils hardest. It’s unacceptable for children’s education to suffer because of inadequate school funding."

Lewes District and East Sussex County Green Party councillor Wendy Maples said she had discussed the situation with senior figures at the county council.

She said: "I'm seeking a transparent explanation of why such asuccessful school is losing funding.

"I understand that the school, teaching union and ESCC are still in discussions so I'm hopeful that a successful solution to staff levels at the school can be found. I know there is a lot of concern among parents and carers."

Phil Clarke, NEU regional secretary said: "Taking industrial action is a last resort for our members. However they have been left with no choice as it is very clear that these cuts to front-line staffing will have a significant negative impact on the education the children at Western Road receive.

"We will be working with management to try and negotiate a solution."

A school spokesperson said: “We have been in regular discussions with staff and the union over the staffing restructure proposals, which are necessary for the school to set a balanced budget.

"The finalising of the budget, consultation and discussions are ongoing and it is very much hoped that a resolution can be found.

“We are confident that whatever decisions are taken we can maintain the highest standard of education and support at the school within a limited budget.”