Major re-structure at DMAT schools threatens much-loved staff

Following the announcement that the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, which oversees 17 primary and secondary schools in our area, has entered into a consultation process in a bid to make savings, parents and staff alike are still asking questions of the Trust which has sought to reassure them of a fair and open process.

A letter which was sent to parents just before the Easter holidays read:

'I write to inform you that the Board of Trustees have been developing proposals to restructure both our teaching staff and support staff across the trust. Whilst these proposals are subject to consultation, the proposed changes have been developed in order to ultimately enhance thelearning experience of pupils.

Through the additional proposals, we also hope to:

• Bolster our SENDCO provision, providing our students with bespoke support

• Increase the efficiency of our administrative processes across both our primary and secondary academies

• Rework our curriculum offer, adopting a pathway model which more flexibly supports students and staff. This will primarily impact students in our secondary academies.

We are exploring these options in order to enhance the learning experience of our pupils by providing:

• The highest possible quality of education for all local children, in order to ensure students from all backgrounds are able to succeed.

• A fit-for-purpose staffing structure that delivers excellent teaching resources, flexibility, and career development opportunities; measures which will support our objective in relation to delivering the highest quality education in this Trust.

• A staffing structure that demonstrates value for money and meets current financial constraints.'

The proposed changes to the structure of the organisation would see the number of teaching assistants (TA's) reduced from 117 to just 42, and teaching staff reduced from 100 to 69. However, in the upper levels of the business, the leadership staff would increase from 13 to 27.

These figures include the removal of all TA's from Year 3 upwards, those roles being replaced by just three people who would cover where and when necessary. Also to be cut, are the technician's roles in secondary level education, with those jobs falling from 21 to just four.

However, this has led to a backlash with parents angry at the lack of understanding of how the schools operate on a day-to-day basis. One Chagford resident, a father of one of the members of staff potentially affected by the restructuring, questioned the level at which these 'changes' are to be made.

He said: "I am very uneasy at the structure of the Dartmoor MAT insofar as it seems very much a case of 'too many chiefs and not enough indians' when I examined the breakdown and salaries of the 'hierarchy' that this trust permits. This is not a multi-national conglomerate but a group of 17 schools; but has a 'corporate structure' akin to a large company... with salaries to match.

'The 'payment per pupil' that the trust obtains from Central Government is the same as that paid to non-academy schools... but this trust has to pay large salaries to a number of people who have no contact with pupils... whilst now wishing to cull teaching assistants etc, who are on low salaries and DO NOT get paid holidays.

'Many parents have expressed great disquiet about how this proposed culling of support staff will affect their children ...quite rightly in my view.

The 'hierarchy' I refer to comprises:

Chief executive officer and trust leader

Deputy trust Leader and chief finance and operations officer

Director of education

Director of inclusion

Executive director of civic leadership

Director of schools

Director of social justice

Director of infrastructure

Chief strategic co-ordinator

Michal Green... post not stated

Lead primary principal

Executive principal

2nd executive principal

3rd executive principal

Principal Okehampton College

Principal Holsworthy Community College

Principal Tavistock College

Associate lead principal... trust-wide

Additionally, all schools have their own Principal.

'CURRENT PAY RANGES AT DARTMOOR MAT:

The current pay ranges for the ELT are set out below:

Role Minimum £ Maximum £

Chief Executive Officer £125,000 145,000

Chief Operations Officer £92,959 99,950

Executive Director - Schools £109,914 117,197

Executive Director – Civic Leadership £83,971 92,626

'All the above figures can be found on the Dartmoor MAT website.

I do not know if bonuses are paid to the top earners at Multi-Academy Trusts... but it would be very interesting to know, in view of plans to cull low-paid staff who contribute so much to the effective education of pupils at the Primary Schools in the MAT.

'Let us hope that common sense will prevail and that re-structuring 'at the top' can be effected to save money and that it is not only those at the 'coal face' who will be the ones to be sacrificed."

One Principal said: "The Trust can't really give any more information to anyone right now because that's the nature of a consultation. They had to notify everyone that the process was beginning, but no decisions have been made yet. The main reason they're having to do this is the energy costs. Last year the Trust was tied in to a brilliant deal but that deal has ended and the costs for gas and electricity across the Trust have more than tripled. It's now costing more than we have and we are fast spending reserves just to keep the schools open."

When asked if perhaps those at the top might also be in line for redundancies, the answer was that there have already been positions which have been absorbed into others, and some which have been left redundant once the worker had moved on.

A teaching assistant (TA) from one of the affected schools contacted 'The Moorlander' and said that if this really was just a consultation, "it's the worst sick joke possible".

"We've had notice of redundancy," we were told. "We haven't been consulted on anything. We were told that there would be an online meeting after school one day, and we all assumed it would be to discuss the changes to the upper management as we were always aware that that section was on a two-year trial and then could be changed. What we were not ready for was a recorded video, telling us that nearly all the TA's across the board would be losing their jobs.

'It was a video. It wasn't even a face-to-face meeting, so we had no opportunity to respond at that point. If this was just a consultation and nothing had been decided, why have they put together a whole document laying out what they propose to do?

'I'm a TA and I love my job and I work so hard. I do so many hours I'm not paid for, it's unreal. And they want to get rid of all those hours? Who's going to pick them up? They want to centralise the admin – who's going to be the point of contact in the schools? Who's going to man the front desk? Who's going to call the parents if a child is sick? The teacher? Who's going to look after that sick child in the meantime? It's utterly ridiculous."

A further letter was sent to try to clarify the Trust's position, which stated:

'From both a financial and practical perspective, potential changes are being explored to help ensure the long-term viability of our schools.

'In addition to financial pressures which are being felt by schools across the country, the current staffing model is not sustainable to meet an increasing need for personalised SEND support for children and the need for clear points of contact for parents and carers. The new staffing model which is being proposed would mean there would be increased SEND and leadership support as there will be some teachers who would take on SEND or leadership roles for part of their time as well as part of their time reserved for classroom teaching. This would mean there is additional SEND capacity within each of the schools, as well as lead teachers who would take on responsibilities for some key areas, including as main points of contact to support parents and carers with any necessary support in the first instance.

'We recognise potential change can create uncertainty, but the scale of the challenges facing schools means we need to explore changes to the structure in order to meet the needs of the schools and students.'

Our TA source continued: "We've been told that we can take voluntary redundancy but I don't want to do that. I love the kids I work with and they love me. How is this going to affect them? How is it seen to be a good thing that people who see the children face-to-face and interact with them every day, are going to be replaced with upper management people who have no contact with the children at all?"

On the face of things, it appears that there will be a high level of redundancies made, and those who remain may have to take on even more work in addition to their already-overloaded day. Although it is appreciated that money must be saved, it is questionable to remove those people who make the schools what they are and deliver high quality teaching to our children. One parent that praised her son's teacher says he is 'the best she's seen'.

"He relates to his class in a way I'm so happy to see. That he cares for them all is obvious, and the little things he does are so kind and considerate. His job may not be on the line but those in the school whose jobs are, will affect everything. The school has flourished under the principal we have now, it's so much better than it was three years ago. It makes me very angry to think that the schools are being run like a corporate business and the children are the ones who will suffer most while those at the top of the food chain continue to rake in crazy salaries. This must be stopped."