Union members are today lobbying the Bishop of Blackburn to protest a decision to turn a Preston school into an academy.
From today (Thursday 20 January) at 10.30am, National Education Union (NEU) members from St Matthews CofE Primary School, in New Hall Lane, will gather outside the office of The Rt Rev Julian Henderson.
They are protesting the role that the Diocese of Blackburn and their academy trust, CIDARI, has played in attempting to make St Matthew’s an academy despite opposition from staff, parents and the wider community.
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NEU Senior Regional Officer Jim Dye said: “Our members at St Matt’s have been taking strike action since December to try and protect their school from this unpopular privatisation.
“They are deeply upset by the role the church and Cidari have played in this process and are determined to make the bishop understand the damage this needless academisation is doing to their school.”
Protestors will gather at the Walker Industrial Park, Blackburn, near the Diocese and Cidari offices.
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The National Education Union brings together the voices of over 450,000 teachers, lecturers, support staff and leaders working in maintained and independent schools and colleges across the UK.
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