Staff at Farringtons School in Chislehurst, where parents pay up to £50,000 a year for their child to attend, say they are already underpaid compared to teachers in other schools and now face further cuts to their salaries and pensions.
The National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT claim the school is using fire and rehire tactics to either remove staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or cut salaries by 3.48 per cent.
They argue that these changes will make it harder to recruit and retain good teachers.
According to the NEU, a newly qualified teacher at Farringtons earns £33,757, nearly £3,000 less than in a local state school.
The highest-paid teachers at the school earn £50,534, compared to £53,994 for top-paid teachers in outer London state schools.
The union says this pay gap is unacceptable, particularly in a school that charges £50,000 a year for boarding pupils and £23,000 for day pupils.
One teacher said, “We go above and beyond for pupils, but now we’re being asked to take a pay cut, either in our salary now or in our pensions later. It’s incredibly disheartening.”
The decision to strike follows an overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action, with 97.5 per cent of NEU members backing the walkouts.
Staff have already staged one strike and plan further action on March 5, 11, 12, and 13.
Farringtons School has confirmed that the planned strike action will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday
As a result, one year group will not be attending school on Tuesday, though they have been given work to complete from home.
However, all pupils are expected to attend as usual on Wednesday.
The NEU said last Thursday’s picket line was “very positive and well attended,” adding that the message from staff is clear: they want their pay and pensions protected
A spokesperson for the union said, “The planned strike action will go ahead until we have a resolution.
“We continue to push for ACAS negotiations and hope the school will take us up on this suggestion.
“Our members simply want to be paid fairly for their work, in their salaries now and through a reliable pension scheme when they retire.
“It’s simply not acceptable to force them to accept further cuts to their remuneration.
“We urge Farringtons to reconsider.”
Farrington’s school argues that the rising costs of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme have made it increasingly difficult to sustain, particularly given wider financial pressures on independent schools.
The school says it has been exploring alternative options to balance staff pay and long-term financial stability.
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.”
They added: “We are continuing to work hard to bring the matter to a swift and positive conclusion.”
