Second teachers strike to take place at Welsh school grappling with a deficit of more than £2 million

Twm Owen, Local democracy reporter

A second teachers strike at a school grappling with a deficit of more than £2 million is due to take place this week.

Teachers are taking industrial action over a refusal of their employers to rule out compulsory redundancies in staffing restructure.

King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny, which teaches children aged three to 19, was closed to all students other than sixth formers last Thursday, March 5 and is due to close again on Wednesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 12.

The NEU National Education Union has also said it will take strike action for three consecutive days from Tuesday, March 24 to Thursday, March 26.

Ahead of last week’s one day strike the union said there had been insufficient progress in talks with the school and Monmouthshire County Council which is the local education authority.

Nicola Fitzpatrick, Wales Secretary for NEU Cymru, said: ”NEU members have taken strike action due to a lack of commitment on protecting existing terms and conditions.

“Our members are not asking for anything unreasonable – just to be treated fairly and in keeping with long standing entitlements. We remain committed to reaching a negotiated outcome, but equally will not stand by when they are facing detriment.”

The school, which is Monmouthshire’s first for children aged three to 19, moved into a purpose built £70m building on the site of the former comprehensive last spring.

The county’s 34 schools, and its pupil referral unit, have a combined deficit budget of £7.5m pounds, as around half of the schools combined have spent more than their budgets have allowed.

Senior councillors have previously said a large part of the £7.5m figure is due to King Henry School. The NEU has said King Henry’s defeciit has grown over the years and now stands at £2.3m.

Councillor Laura Wright, the council’s Labour cabinet member for education, said the council is working with the school and the governing body to develop a “responsible and sustainable” deficit reduction plan which she said is intended to restore the budget to a balance position over eight years.