More town school jobs to go

BUDGET cuts have hit another Nuneaton primary school which is preparing to make job losses.

Just days after it was revealed that St Paul’s Primary School was having to lose teaching assistants, Weddington Primary School is the latest to announce it too has been hit by decreased funding.

It is understood that between four and six teaching assistant roles will be lost due to the new school funding formula.

Jo Kershaw, headteacher at the Winchester Avenue-based place of learning, confirmed: “Unfortunately this is happening in many schools because of budget cuts and decreased funding.

“The new funding formula, however, is looking much more positive so we may not have to lose as many members of staff as we initially thought.

“It is expected that the school will lose between four and six-teaching assistant posts and we are, of course, working closely with the HR team and unions to ensure the process is as supportive as possible.

“We have had some applications for voluntary redundancies, which has helped greatly, so we are hoping to keep as many teaching assistants as we can once we have the updated budget forecast.”

She concluded that the tough and upsetting decision will hopefully safeguard other roles, saying: “The staff have been absolutely wonderful and have supported the process as much as they could.

“We really do not want to lose anyone so it has been a very emotional time for all those involved. Hopefully, following this process, further cuts to staffing will not have to be made in the future.”