Teaching staff at Farringtons School in Chislehurst are walking out in protest from tomorrow, saying they are already underpaid compared to teachers in other schools and now face cuts to their pay and pensions.
The National Education Union and NASUWT say the school is using fire and rehire tactics to either remove staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or cut their salaries by 3.48 per cent.
According to the NEU, a newly qualified teacher at Farringtons earns just £33,757 compared to £36,412 in a local state school.
The highest-paid teachers at the school earn £50,534, which the union says is significantly less than the £53,994 earned by top-paid teachers in outer London state schools.
Meanwhile, Farringtons charges £50,000 a year for boarding pupils and £23,000 for day pupils, according to the union.
The union says that further cuts will only make recruitment and retention worse.
One teacher said: “We go above and beyond for pupils but now we are being asked to take a pay cut either in our salary now or in our pensions later.”
Staff are planning a walk out on February 27, followed by further strikes on March 4, 5, 11, 12 and 13.
The decision follows an overwhelming vote for strike action, with 97.5 per cent of NEU members backing the walkouts.
NEU officer John Friend accused the school of refusing to engage with unions.
He said: “Governors at Farringtons need to start valuing their teachers. They should be looking to raise pay, not forcing staff onto worse contracts.
“After months of refusing to negotiate, the school is now scrambling to put together last-minute options but they still amount to a significant downgrade for already underpaid teachers.”
The school’s governors are set to meet on Friday to discuss alternative proposals.
These include phased withdrawal from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for new staff or offering existing teachers a one-year 3.5 per cent pay rise in exchange for leaving the scheme permanently.
A spokesperson for Farringtons School told the News Shopper: “There have been significant increases to the cost of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) over the last few years.
“We value our staff hugely and wish to reward them as well as we can.
“However, unfortunately the growing cost of the TPS is simply not sustainable, particularly in the context of the other challenges facing the independent school sector.
“We are taking every step to minimise the impact of this action on pupils and hope that the issue can be resolved as quickly and positively as possible.
“The Prep and Senior school will remain open tomorrow, with all but two year groups coming in, for whom appropriate alternative provisions have been made.”
