Progress in talks over teacher jobs at Berwick Partnership, but 'stumbling block' remains
“Progress has been made” on a dispute over teacher job losses in north Northumberland following talks between the county council and unions, but “there are issues that still need to be resolved”.
That is according to NASUWT officials following a meeting last week amid the on-going dispute. Teaching staff walked out over possible redundancies with the Berwick Partnership of schools set to move to a two-tier system of education.
The move away from three-tier means three middle schools – Glendale, Tweedmouth and Berwick – will close their doors for good in August 2026.
NASUWT says all 142 staff in the middle schools are currently at risk of not having a job when the process is completed, with only 50 to 60 jobs available to apply for after restructuring.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following a meeting with Northumberland County Council education bosses last week, NASUWT National Executive Member John Hall explained the union’s current position.
He said: “Talks are continuing. There are issues that still need to be resolved.
“We have agreed to meet again at the beginning of September. At the moment, we won’t be issuing any more strike days until we have reported back to members and followed up on their concerns.
“Bit by bit, we are getting there but the stumbling block appears to be with the headteachers of schools not affected by the job losses, rather than the county council. The hurdles that they’re putting in front of members of staff getting appointed to their schools are absolutely ridiculous.
“The headteachers want to do lesson observations on all off the staff – we don’t feel that is necessary, they have references and they can do interviews.
“We’re not in agreement with them at all. We need both sides to agree the process and we’re miles apart.
“I think this is going to continue into the autumn term at least.”
A spokeswoman for the county council said: “We continue to work with all the Berwick Partnership middle school staff to recruit, retrain and redeploy them into permanent employment by September 2026.
“To support this, we are engaging positively with all connected partners.”