Staff pay and conditions could be under threat at an Ipswich school if a decision is finalised to turn it into a church-run academy.

As revealed in The Evening Star, students at Holywells High spoke out against the possibility of the running of their school being handed over to the Church of England in September.

The students’ concerns are now shared by trade unions, who today revealed their opposition to academies’ abilities to operate outside the parliamentary approved School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.

If Holywells becomes an academy, staff contracts will be automatically renewed under transfer of undertaking regulations, unless their employment is terminated for an economic, technical or organisational reason.

I was quoted in this story. If you go to the Star’s website, there is a readers’ poll that asks “Do you back the contoversial idea to turn Holywells School into a church-run academy?” So far (1pm on 29 October), the results are; Yes – 38.38%, No – 61.62%. MN

Tags: Holywells, Ipswich, Faith+schools, Church+of+England