Press Release: NEU Trafford: Trust must stop deflecting and start negotiating at Flixton Girls School

National Education Union

Press Release

Press Office direct lines: 020 7782 1589 / 020 7380 4706
Switchboard: 0345 811 8111
Out of hours: 07918 617466 / 07879 480061

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: 21 May 2026

NEU Trafford: Trust must stop deflecting and start negotiating at Flixton Girls School

NEU Trafford has issued an open letter responding to the latest Trust update from Vantage Academy Trust CEO Jill Messham, accusing the Trust of presenting a selective account of the dispute at Flixton Girls School while failing to answer staff’s central concerns over curriculum, workload, pastoral provision and job security.

James Starnes, Branch and District Secretary for NEU Trafford, said: “Where the Trust has made fair points, those should be acknowledged. But where it offers half-truths or evasions that blur responsibility for its own decisions, those points must be challenged. Parents, carers, students and the wider community are entitled to the truth about what is being done to this school.”

The statement follows two days of positive and engaging strike action on 19 and 20 May, during which NEU members had supportive conversations with parents, carers, students and the wider local community. NEU Trafford said the response showed clear public understanding that staff are standing up for educational quality as well as their own livelihoods.

NEU Trafford said the industrial action is a last resort against restructure and redundancy proposals that would narrow curriculum provision, weaken pastoral support and increase pressure on staff. The union rejected any suggestion that public campaigning is improper, stressing that families and students are directly affected by cuts to staffing and subject provision and have every right to be informed.

The union also rejected attempts to hide behind the wider school funding crisis, saying national pressures do not excuse local decisions to cut subject options, reduce curriculum time and put jobs at risk. It said the Trust’s claims of repeated efforts to resolve the dispute are not borne out by events, with NEU having repeatedly pressed for meaningful negotiations and substantive movement ahead of the further ACAS meeting on Friday 22 May.

NEU Trafford said the reduction of Modern Foreign Languages from two subjects to one, alongside reduced Key Stage 3 time, would leave Flixton Girls School offering a narrower curriculum than most local schools. It added that while some movement on planning and preparation time is welcome, serious concerns remain about fairness, workload and whether pastoral responsibilities are being properly resourced.

Starnes added: “Industrial action is not the cause of this dispute. It is the result of decisions that members believe are avoidable, damaging and still capable of being changed. If the Trust is serious about resolution, it should stop attacking lawful union campaigning and start engaging honestly with the alternatives put forward by staff and their union.”

NEU Trafford is calling on Vantage Academy Trust to publish an up-to-date status quo forecast, engage seriously with alternatives that protect curriculum breadth and staffing, and focus on resolving the dispute through honest negotiation and real movement.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

·        The National Education Union stands up for the future of education. It brings together the voices of half a million teachers, lecturers, support staff and leaders working in maintained and independent schools and colleges across the UK, to form the largest education union in Europe.

·        It is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing its members in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.

·        The National Education Union is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), and Education International (EI). It is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.

Local contact details:
James Starnes, Branch & District Secretary of Trafford Branch – Email: james.starnes@neu.org.uk

National:
Press Office direct lines: 020 7782 1589 / 020 7380 4706
Out of hours: 07918 617466 / 07879 480061
Switchboard: 0345 811 8111

[PDF Link]