School posts under threat as Clacton Coastal Academy stages major shake-up

A number teaching jobs are understood to be under threat in a major shake-up at Clacton Coastal Academy.

One insider said the cuts would hit staff working in pastoral care and one-to-one teaching, such as helping to boost reading and writing skills.

The proposals are said to have left staff in tears.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, claimed the number of teaching posts could be slashed to just 101.

The school, which has more than 1,500 pupils, has already started a consultation with affected workers.

A second round of job losses among non-teaching staff, such as classroom assistants, is also expected.

The Gazette understands school leaders are trying to save cash after forecasts they will go £5million into the red by 2019.

The source said: “Morale is at an all time low. Twenty-seven staff have been told they are at risk.

“If you walk into the staff room there are little groups of staff in tears.

“Many have been here for decades and made a considerable difference to children’s lives.”

The Academies Enterprise Trust, which runs the school, was slammed last week by education watchdogs for failing children from poor backgrounds.

Clacton Coastal Academy was praised in its 2014 Ofsted report for rapidly narrowing the gap between disadvantaged students and other pupils.

But the Gazette’s source said the proposed cuts mean there are now fears the most vulnerable pupils, who need extra help, will suffer.

They claim more than 80 per cent of the current Year 7 had a reading age below the national average when they started at the academy.

“These kids will not survive in a mainstream classroom,” said the source.

“A lot can’t read, a lot are in care or have appalling histories of neglect and abuse.

“With the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, just getting them into school is a challenge.

“Teaching and learning can’t take place until there are bums on seats and the staff who ensure they are coming into school are the ones that have been put at risk.

“All the nurturing we put in place to support children and get them to be in school and get them up to the national average is being removed.”

The second round of cuts is expected to be announced at the end of the month.

The Gazette’s source said: “I would expect stage two to be even more ruthless.”

They added: “Staff are all horrified. There are good people here.

“They have mortgages to pay but the majority of staff are more concerned about the children and the impact on pupils and the local community.

“We are removing whole layers of support and intervention and utterly failing the local community.”

• Restructuring: Executive principal Caroline Haynes

EXECUTIVE principal Caroline Haynes took over at Clacton Coastal Academy at the start of the school year.

She said the school was going through a complete restructuring process but insisted the number of teaching jobs lost was likely to be 11 in areas which were “currently overstaffed”.

“It is not about undermining the quality of provision - it is about making sure we are not using resources in an uneconomic way,” said Ms Haynes.

“It involves a review of the whole staffing structure.

“It will involve some staff on pastoral care but it doesn't mean there won't be pastoral care.

“This is about making sure our structure represents the best possible provision for our students and that is what it will do.

“It is regrettable that during a process such as this some jobs may be at risk. However, we will do everything we can with staff whose jobs are at risk to avoid redundancy wherever possible.

Ms Haynes said most academies and secondary schools in Essex faced “enormous financial difficulties” and “huge deficits” over the coming years unless they changed the way they do things.

But she insisted pupils and vulnerable children would not suffer because of the changes.

“Staff are always anxious about change but they are very, very professional and focusing on ensuring excellent outcomes for our students, particularly those facing exams in summer,” said Ms Haynes.

“The structure we have proposed provides a totally comprehensive thorough support mechanism for all children, particularly those that are vulnerable.

“I am absolutely confident that the children who are most vulnerable in our academy will have an incredibly comprehensive, highly-focused and dedicated team that will take care of their needs.”