Teachers stage walkout over pay cuts at Crouch End school

The strike comes after a restructure led to four staff members at Highgate Wood School being told their pay would be cut from September, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Staff and NEU members stage a walkout at Highgate Wood School

Teachers at a secondary school in Crouch End have gone on strike over pay cuts to four members of staff.

Highgate Wood School’s teachers, support staff, and local National Education Union (NEU) members went on strike for three days in July and will strike for a further three days in September when the school reopens after the summer break.

It came after a restructure at the school meant four members of staff will have their pay cut this September, a move NEU called “unnecessary, ill-conceived and pointless”.

Haringey NEU assistant secretary Efe Kurtluoglu said: “The school has the money to pay for it, in the grand scheme of the school’s budget, the costs are negligible.”

He said it was a “small amount” of money to the school but “significant” to families and individuals with financial commitments.

The school spent £13,000 a year on a vending machine in the staff room but to defend members pay cost “less than half that”.

Headteacher Patrick Cozier in response said the restructure had been in the works since 2021.

He said: “We fully consulted with staff at the time and have worked hard to engage with them over the three years the pay protection has been in place.”

Efe highlighted the cost-of-living crisis and a recruitment and retention crisis as reasons to rescind the move.

He said: “These pay cuts affect the teachers of creative subjects who are solely needed by the school. A commitment to a swift resolution would be to agree to our reasonable demands.

“We do hope for a resolution that will mean that there is no reason for strikes in September. When we call a strike in a school, it is always as a last resort and in the hope that the school leaders will do the right thing so that we can call it off – nothing would make us happier.”

Following negotiations, proposals such as the extension of the current pay structure for one year was suggested. However, this was rejected on the grounds NEU members and school staff did not want teachers affected in “a year’s time”.

Matthew Astrop, NEU representative at Highgate Wood School, said: “No-one in education in the middle of a cost-of-living and a recruitment and retention crisis should be facing a pay cut for doing the same job as their colleagues.

“The whole country knows teachers need a fair pay rise. How come the headteacher at Highgate Wood doesn’t get it?”

Patrick said the restructure was not “related to the arts specifically” but to ensure a “fit-for-purpose structure was in place”.

He said: “We continue to fully value all subjects and are proud of our broad, balanced and enriching curriculum.

“We are keen to resolve this matter. Already we have made three offers to the NEU but all three have been rejected. The most recent two proposals would have resulted in a time limited increase in salary for the four members of staff impacted.

“We are keen to avoid further strike action as this disrupts families and impacts on the learning of our students. We have informed the NEU we are available to discuss and negotiate further.”

Efe said if there was no resolution to the dispute members and school staff would continue to strike “further into the autumn term”.

Haringey Council was approached for comment.

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