{"id":245306,"date":"2026-04-23T23:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=245306"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:13:13","slug":"disgraceful-unions-attack-alarming-harris-job-cut-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/disgraceful-unions-attack-alarming-harris-job-cut-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Disgraceful’: Unions attack ‘alarming’ Harris job cut plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Union leaders warn plans to slash dozens of jobs at one of England\u2019s biggest academy trusts are \u201cutterly disgraceful\u201d and \u201cbad news\u201d for pupils.<\/p>\n

It was reported this week that 73 jobs at the Harris Federation \u2013 run by Dan Moynihan, the country\u2019s best-paid trust chief executive \u2013 could be axed as the MAT wrestles with the impact of falling rolls.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Tes<\/em><\/a>, Moynihan said union reps had told him that restructuring was happening \u201call over\u201d the country and that they understood the pressures schools were facing.<\/p>\n

But union leaders have vowed to \u201csupport members who take whatever action they deem necessary\u201d to challenge the plans.<\/p>\n

‘Not unique to Harris’<\/h3>\n

Mike Short, Unison\u2019s head of education, said: \u201cIssues around funding and falling pupil numbers are not unique to Harris.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dan Moynihan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSupport staff who survive a round of redundancies will be left with increased workloads, high levels of stress and low pay, which is bad news for pupils and for their education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tes<\/em> reported that Harris is consulting on plans that could place as many as 44 teachers and 29 support staff at risk of redundancy.<\/p>\n

Moynihan \u2013 who was paid at least \u00a3530,000 last year \u2013 said the 55-school trust has reduced central costs and removed some director positions.<\/p>\n

But he said more needed to be done to \u201csoften the impact\u201d of tumbling pupil numbers, adding: \u201cOur priority is to keep those schools viable.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Deeply alarming’<\/h3>\n

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the NASUWT teachers\u2019 union, said redundancies were not an inevitable consequence of falling pupil rolls as \u201cemployers have a responsibility to plan for this and exhaust all alternatives\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Matt Wrack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Describing the scale of the job losses as \u201cdeeply alarming\u201d, he said: \u201cThe behaviour of this trust is utterly disgraceful. If we want to improve education, it will not be done by sacking teachers and other school staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is simply not credible to claim that job losses are unavoidable while the federation\u2019s chief executive pockets more than half a million pounds a year in salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents and the public will rightly question these priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moynihan said he hoped there would be fewer than 73 jobs lost, following employee turnover and transfers.<\/p>\n

Union’s vow<\/h3>\n

The move comes after Harris scaled back redundancy plans last year, after blaming unfunded pay rises and a \u201ccritical drop in income\u201d from falling rolls for its squeezed budgets. The number of teachers at risk was later reduced to 15 from 45<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Daniel Kebede, the leader of the National Education Union, expects Harris \u201cto engage proactively and meaningfully with the NEU to find ways these proposed cuts can be avoided\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Daniel Kebede<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the union would support members \u201cto take whatever action they deem necessary to challenge the cuts\u201d.<\/p>\n

Harris\u2019s schools are in and around London. Numerous parts of the country have been rocked by falling rolls, with the capital among the areas most heavily impacted.<\/p>\n

\u00a3290m funding hit<\/h3>\n

A National Audit Office (NAO) report released this week<\/a> found demand for primary places across England fell by 3 per cent between 2018 and 2025.<\/p>\n

Last year, 14 per cent of primary places went unfilled, compared with 10 per cent in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

With 90 per cent of school funding following the numbers on roll, the NAO predicted schools could receive \u00a3288 million less in per-pupil funding in 2027.<\/p>\n

National projections predict a further 7 per cent drop in primary numbers by 2030, while demand for secondary places will start falling consistently from this year.<\/p>\n

Harris did not respond to Schools Week<\/em>\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fears for workload, stress and pay as trust consults on proposals impacting over 70 roles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":245226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[324,1508],"post-theme":[2425],"class_list":["post-245306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-funding","tag-harris","post-theme-school-funding"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t