Staff face redundancies at Rotherham school despite a rise in applications

Aston Academy, in Swallownest, announced earlier this month it had been granted £4.5 million of funding for refurbishment.

It came in response to increasing number of school applications and ahead of extra demand likely to be caused by the expansion of two feeder schools in the area.

But following the announcement, staff said they were baffled after being told the school was currently in the process of making redundancies.

Aston Community Education Trust, which runs Aston Academy, has confirmed it is in talks with staff and trade unions, and refused to rule out possible redundancies.

It follows a review of curriculum provision across each of their 11 South Yorkshire academies which showed a surplus of staff at both Aston Academy, and Swinton Academy in Mexborough. 

In a statement the Aston Community Education Trust said: “Aston Community Education Trust is reviewing curriculum provision within our academies to ensure that it continues to support the best outcomes for our students. 

“This process has highlighted surplus staff within some faculties in two of our academies, Aston and Swinton.

“We have a statutory duty to provide best value in our use of public funds and having a balanced staffing structure is a vital to fullfil this requirement whilst continuing to provide the very best for our students. 

“We have started a consultation process with staff, and trade unions, to find the best possible solution, while working hard to avoid any compulsory redundancies.”

Students at Aston Academy have had their PE lessons in a temporary structure since 2008, after they replaced school buildings demolished to make way for Aston-cum-Aughton Leisure Centre.

The funding, which was granted Rotherham Council, will see the former swimming pool converted to house new sports facilities.

The refurbishment will also enable the school to accommodate a further 150 students beyond its current capacity of 1,700.