Farringtons School teachers say they have been left with no choice but to take industrial action after the school failed to respond to repeated calls for negotiations.
The latest strike follows what unions have described as the strongest day of action yet on March 5, with increasing numbers of teachers joining the picket line.
The National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT say staff are determined to defend their pay and pensions but have been met with silence from the school’s leadership.
Despite three previous strike days, the unions say Farringtons has refused to engage in talks, ignoring offers of mediation through ACAS and failing to respond to requests from the union’s London region to meet.
The strikes follow accusations by the National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT that the school is using “fire and rehire” tactics, forcing teachers to either accept removal from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or take a 3.48 per cent salary cut.
The unions argue these changes will also make it harder to recruit and retain staff.
One teacher said: “The proposed changes will leave us £1,500 a year worse off on average. Our workload hasn’t decreased, our living costs haven’t fallen, so why is our pay going down? A £1,500 a year pay is an insult that will leave us feeling the pinch.
“Parents pay a lot of money to send their kids to Farringtons because they want a quality education for their children. Cutting our pay puts that quality education at risk. “
Teaching staff are frustrated with the private school, which charges parents up to £50,000 per year for their children to attend.
According to the NEU, a newly qualified teacher at Farringtons earns £33,757—almost £3,000 less than a state school teacher in the same area.
The highest-paid teachers at the school receive £50,534, compared to £53,994 for their state school equivalents in outer London.
Farringtons School argues that rising pension costs have made the Teachers’ Pension Scheme increasingly difficult to sustain amid wider financial pressures on independent schools.
A school spokesperson told the News Shopper: “There have been significant increases to the cost of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme over the last few years.
“We value our staff hugely and wish to reward them as well as we can.
“However, the growing cost of the TPS is simply not sustainable, particularly in the context of other challenges facing the independent school sector.
“We are continuing to work hard to bring the matter to a swift and positive conclusion.”
