Further strikes planned as Tring Park School is slammed for firing and rehiring staff

Last month, a joint letter from two leading union groups, claimed that at least 24 teachers were hired and rehired by Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

This was the latest development in an ongoing dispute between teachers, and the governors and decision-makers at the school regarding pay.

Tring Park School says it has been forced to change its pension scheme due to new Government requirements announced this spring. Independent schools are now responsible for 28.6 per cent contributions for their staff’s pensions, previously private schools only had to pay 23.68 per cent.

A representative from the National Education Union (NEU), which sent the letter to parents, alongside National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), has called the contract offer ‘detrimental’. Also, a union spokesperson called the practice of firing and rehiring staff a ‘discredited tactic’.

A spokesperson for the school said the decision to hire and rehire staff was only taken after a comprehensive consultation process and that the decision was taken as a last resort. They said: “Teachers were asked to agree to a variation in their current contract necessary to implement these changes, and 73 per cent of the affected staff agreed. Regrettably, a number of teaching staff were unwilling to accept the Board’s decision and, as a last resort, the School reluctantly had to take the difficult step of serving notice to terminate their existing contracts and offer immediate re-employment. However, all members of staff who were served notice have now accepted the offer of immediate re-employment and we are pleased that the staff concerned have chosen to continue their careers at the School on the revised terms.”

Tring Park School also committed to bringing forward a pay increase of four per cent, as part of its negotiations and disclosed that the increased wages would be available to staff from September 2024.

However, according to the unions representing the teachers, staff had to choose between accepting a 3.5 per cent pay cut or dropping out of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS).

A former student called the school’s actions ‘shocking’ and said dozens of past pupils are showing solidarity with protesting teachers. The student said alumna from the organisation were speaking up as teachers were ‘voiceless’ in the debate. According to the widely-shared union letter, teachers have been banned from discussing the negotiations and strike action with parents since January.

The unions also believe that the firing and rehiring was carried out prior to the results of last month’s general election, as they believe schools will not have the powers to complete such actions in 100 days time under the new government.

Plans are in place for more strikes in the summer, a move the school has labelled as ‘disappointing’.

Also, Tring Park School has said it is one of the few independent schools affected by the Government ruling, brought in this April, that is still offering a TPS.

The spokesperson added: “It is important to highlight that, unlike many schools, we were not proposing to remove the TPS as a benefit for existing eligible staff or to reduce the cost of the 23.68 per cent employer contribution rate applicable prior to the April 2024 increase. We fully understand the value that many of our staff place in the TPS, and therefore wish to retain the ability for current staff to remain in the TPS, if they wish to do so. We therefore proposed that a hybrid pensions option be introduced for our teachers which means that the School would both remain in the TPS and introduce a new defined contribution pension scheme to run alongside it.”