Trade unions have been assured they will have a say in the future of Isle of Wight primary schools as councillors push ahead with a review of school places, amid renewed concerns over possible closures and staff redundancies.
UNISON representative Mark Chiverton raised concerns about the impact of school closures on teaching and support staff during a meeting at County Hall on Thursday (15th October).
He asked whether councillors would engage directly with trade unions as part of the school place planning process, particularly when considering the potential consequences for jobs and education.
The concerns follow the Isle of Wight Council’s controversial 2024/25 school place planning exercise, which included proposals that could have seen up to 6 primary schools close.
Mr Chiverton said the previous process had placed a large number of teaching and support staff jobs at risk simultaneously, while also creating significant pressure on council employees responsible for coordinating consultations.
Mark Chiverton, of UNISON, has said:
“Committee members will recall the place planning exercise undertaken by the Isle of Wight Council in 2024/25 which included proposals involving the possible closure of up to six primary schools across the whole Isle of Wight and which inevitably led to a very large number of teaching and support staff jobs all being at risk at one time.
“A consequence of this approach was a very widely contested set of proposals which caused huge stress on Isle of Wight Council staff engaged in co-ordinating the extremely complicated consultation process.
Article continues below this advertisement “Councillors will also be aware of the longstanding view of all trade unions with members in Island schools that, if closures are contemplated, to ensure school staff have the maximum possible chance of redeployment, the number of proposed closures at any one time should be minimised, ideally to a maximum of one at any one time, to minimise redundancies.”
At the meeting, councillors from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Reform UK and independent groups agreed that the latest school places review should consider pupil demand, educational quality, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision and the impact on local communities.
Councillor Andrew Garratt, Liberal Democrat Vice-Chair of the education panel, reassured union representatives that their views would be heard.
Cllr Garratt has said:
“It is very important that your interests and the interests you safeguard for your members are properly addressed by us as the decision makers.”
Further concerns were raised by Duncan Morrison of the National Education Union (NEU), who questioned what measures the Council would take before proposing any closures to ensure schools fully participated in voluntary redundancy and redeployment arrangements.
He asked whether headteachers and their schools would be encouraged to engage with measures designed to keep job losses to a minimum.
In response, Cllr Garratt read out a statement prepared by council officers, which confirmed that the authority would work proactively with schools, employees and trade unions to explore alternatives to compulsory redundancies.
However, the response acknowledged that it may not always be possible to prevent job losses resulting from changes to school organisation.
The Council said it was keen to minimise redundancies and would strongly encourage schools to provide redeployment opportunities for staff whose jobs were at risk.
The discussions come as councillors continue examining the future provision of primary education across the Isle of Wight, with unions seeking assurances that any potential closures will be carefully managed to protect staff and minimise disruption.
