Teachers at the prestigious Catholic all-girls boarding school St Mary’s Ascot are reportedly taking strike action for the first time in the school’s 139-year history.
The industrial action involves teachers who are members of the National Education Union (NEU), the largest education union in Europe. The strikes concern a dispute with the school’s governors about pension arrangements.
Strike action is planned for 6 and 7 March and on 12, 13 and 14 March. Picket lines will be formed between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. outside the school, according to the NEU. The school has issued a statement to parents that the “school will remain open” and that it has a “comprehensive plan in place for the continuation” of pupils’ education.
“With some changes in the staff rota, additional help from senior management and friends of St Mary’s, pupils in public examination groups, including Year 10 and the Lower Sixth, will continue to receive exam-focused lessons and workshops to ensure that their excellent progress towards their GCSEs and A Levels continues,” says the statement.
“Pupils in Years 7 to 9 will continue to receive lessons and enrichment activities designed to enhance their curriculum learning. We are determined that your daughter’s life at school will remain as happy, varied and interesting as she has become used to, and as you expect.”
Teachers at St Mary’s Ascot are members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), a government-run scheme which guarantees benefits based on career length and salary.
All state schoolteachers and most of those working in independent schools are members of the TPS, says the NEU. It claims that the governors of St Mary’s have proposed changes to the pension arrangements which are “unacceptable to the teaching staff”.
The governors have proposed to cap the school’s contribution to the TPS at 23.68 per cent, even though TPS employer contributions required by the TPS from April are due to be 28.68 per cent, says the NEU. This means, the union claims, that teachers will see a pay cut of 5 per cent from 1 Sept to maintain membership of the TPS.
It adds that the governors “have stated their intention to force through these changes” to teachers’ contracts by use of the controversial “fire and rehire” procedure if necessary.
Members voted in a formal ballot by 87 per cent for industrial action on a 92 per cent turnout, according to the NEU.
St Mary’s in its statement notes that the Board of Governors initiated a consultation on the school’s membership of the TPS on 20 November 2023. This was a result of employer contributions to the TPS increasing from 16.48 per cent to 23.68 per cent in 2019, before the planned rise to 28.68 per cent due in April 2024.
“These significant increases, coupled with the lack of control over future increases, prompted the Governors’ decision to enter into consultation with teaching staff over the school’s future membership of TPS,” the statement says. “St Mary’s is not alone in proposing this change and the effect of the increased employer contributions and the lack of control over future increases had led to many independent schools reviewing the membership of TPS and consulting with teaching staff over this issue.”
Noting the “importance of attracting and retaining talented teaching staff”, the governors “proposed an alternative defined pension scheme” based on a “generous employer contribution rate of 23.68 per cent, which reflects the cost of the current contribution by the school into the TPS,” the statement says.
It adds: this “compromise” was not accepted by the NEU that “decided to continue with strike action”.
St Mary’s Ascot was established in 1885 as a Catholic boarding school for girls. Recent notable alumni include Lady Antonia Fraser (historian and novelist) and several members of the royal family.
“This [NEU] decision has been disappointing, as it is our express aim to engage collaboratively with teachers in a spirit of openness and transparency,” St Mary’s says. “It is the case that this approach by the unions has been seen commonly across the independent sector.”
Photo: Screenshot of St Mary’s Ascot school from www.st-marys-ascot.co.uk.
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