Announcements

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Thank you to everyone who joined our online meeting on Wednesday afternoon and to those who submitted questions. We are grateful for the engagement and for the directness of the questions asked. This note summarises the main questions raised and the answers given. If your question is not covered here, or if you have a concern about your child’s specific situation, please contact the school directly. 

The meeting was attended by Nick Cooper (Headteacher), Nader Alaghband (Chair of Governors), Julie Bolsom (Vice Chair of Governors), Seb Oram (Chair of Trustees, Compass Learning Partnership), and Chris Eracleous (CEO, Compass Learning Partnership). 

HOW LONG WILL THIS GO ON? WILL IT BE RESOLVED BY SEPTEMBER? 

How much longer is this going to last? My child struggles with change and there are only three weeks of school left. 

We understand how hard this disruption has been, particularly for children who find changes to routine especially difficult. We expect the formal process currently underway to conclude before the new academic year begins in September. We will communicate clearly with families before the end of term about what to expect in September, and we will update you over the summer if anything changes. 

Will there be a resolution for the new academic year? 

Yes, that is our expectation and our firm intention. The formal legal process has a clear timeline. Dismissal and Re-engagement meetings are scheduled for mid-July and we anticipate the process will be complete before the new school year begins. 

Will we know before term ends whether the strikes will continue in September? 

Yes. We will write to families before the end of term to confirm the position for September. We do not expect strikes to continue into the new academic year. 

Will there be communications over the summer about negotiations? 

If there are material developments over the summer that parents need to know about, we will communicate them. We do not expect to be writing to families regularly over the summer, but we will not leave you without information if the situation changes. 

IS WOODFIELD AT RISK OF CLOSING? 

Will this lead to the school closing? What are the chances of Woodfield closing permanently? 

Woodfield is not closing. The financial pressures the school faces are real and serious — without action, the school would face a growing shortfall that would ultimately threaten its future. The changes being made are specifically to put the school on a sustainable footing so it can continue to serve children and families for the long term. Closure is not on the table and is not something the Trust is considering. 

IS THIS 'FIRE AND REHIRE'? ISN'T IT WRONG TO TREAT STAFF THIS WAY? 

It's not right to fire and rehire staff who have put so much into our children. 

We understand why parents feel strongly about the staff who work with their children — so do we. We want to be clear: we are not replacing anyone. We are asking a group of Lead Learning Assistants to accept a reduction of around 7% in their weekly hours, bringing them in line with the 32.5 hours that Brent actually funds and with LLAs at other schools in the Trust. In return, we have offered pay protection until February 2027, additional benefits, and redeployment opportunities at a sister school. When a contract change cannot be agreed through negotiation, the law provides a formal process for implementing it. Despite its name, dismissal and re-engagement does not mean staff are being fired and replaced — it is the process for changing employment terms when no negotiated agreement has been reached. The alternative would be redundancy, which we believe would lead to a worse outcome for staff and for children. We spent nine months trying to avoid reaching this point. It is a last resort. 

WHAT IS THE CURRENT OFFER AND WHERE DO NEGOTIATIONS STAND? 

When was the last offer put to the union? How long do they have to respond? 

The final offer was presented to NEU members in May 2026. Members voted to reject it. Since then, the Trust has initiated the formal statutory consultation process, which includes a 30-day period during which staff can accept the contract variation. That period is currently running. Staff who accept the variation receive pay protection until February 2027, additional benefits, and an early Friday finish. Those who do not accept will go through the formal dismissal and re-engagement process, with less favourable terms. We remain willing to consider any reasonable proposal the NEU puts forward. 

What is the gap between what the union is asking for and what is being offered? 

The union's position has been that no reduction in hours should take place. The Trust's position is that a reduction of 2.5 hours per week — down from an original proposal of 3.5 hours — is the minimum change needed to make the school financially sustainable. ACAS conciliation in February did not bridge that gap. The Trust improved its offer at every stage of the process; there is unlikely to be further room to move without putting the school’s finances at unacceptable risk. 

What happens if members keep rejecting the offer? 

The formal process now underway does not require the union to accept the offer. Staff are being contacted individually. Those who accept the variation will move on to the new terms. Those who do not will go through dismissal and re-engagement meetings. The process is designed to reach a conclusion regardless of whether the union as a body agrees. We expect the majority of staff to accept once the process is complete. 

WHY IS THIS ONLY HAPPENING AT WOODFIELD? 

All SEND schools in Brent get the same funding — why is Woodfield the only one with money problems? Why are other schools not striking? 

We understand why this question is being asked and we want to answer it honestly. Not all SEND schools in Brent operate under identical funding arrangements — the amount schools receive depends on their pupil profile, the complexity of needs in their cohort, and their historic staffing structures. Woodfield serves pupils with particularly complex and high-level needs, and its staffing model was structured to reflect that. The problem is that the contracted hours of Lead Learning Assistants at Woodfield were higher than the level of funding actually available to and from Brent Council for those roles — a gap that has grown over time. That is the specific financial pressure driving this restructure. It is not a reflection of mismanagement, nor is it any criticism of Brent Council; it is a structural funding mismatch that we have been trying to resolve with all interested parties for some time. 

ARE CUTS BEING MADE AT SENIOR LEVEL, NOT JUST TO FRONTLINE STAFF? 

Are cuts only affecting the lowest-paid staff? Are directors and senior leaders being asked to reduce their pay? 

This is a fair and important question. When our previous CEO left, we used that as an opportunity to rethink the leadership structure. The CEO and CFO roles within Compass Learning Partnership have both been reduced to part-time, 60% roles. The Trust has also reduced its central cost levy — the amount it charges schools for central services — by £400 per pupil, returning a significant sum to Woodfield. These changes were made specifically because the Trust recognised it needed to contribute to the solution, not only ask frontline staff to bear the burden. Additionally, the restructure also includes the loss of a teaching post, an art teacher post, a part-time welfare officer, a part-time exams officer, and a fixed-term therapy role through natural wastage and restructuring. The Lead Learning Assistant hours reduction is one part of a broader set of changes across the school. 

HAVE OTHER SAVINGS BEEN EXPLORED? 

Have savings been looked at in areas like utilities, facilities hire, maintenance? 

Yes. The Trust has reviewed non-staffing costs as part of this process, including energy, maintenance, and other operational expenditure. Some savings have been identified and taken forward. However, staffing costs represent 87.5% of the school’s income (for the financial year ending in 2026) and that figure is projected to rise to 92.7% (by the financial year ending 2028) if nothing is done. That would mean that all the other resources necessary to run a school (buildings, information technology, leisure facilities, administration and finance) are expected to be met from a small fraction of available income.  

Compass is not an outlier in that respect. The Trust board undertakes regular reviews, most recently an external assessment undertaken by a School Resources Management Adviser (an experienced professional accredited by the Department for Education) in January 2026. Compared against three other comparable trusts the proportion of expenditure represented by total teaching and teaching support staff costs (the figure above, excluding some pension and on-costs associated with employment) was 77.3% at Compass, well within the benchmark of between 73.5-80%. 

The scope for non-staffing savings to close a shortfall of this scale is very limited, which is why the restructuring is a necessary part of the process. 

Does the school have income streams such as hiring out the hall or facilities? 

The school does make use of its facilities where possible. However, income from facility hire at a school of this type is modest and cannot materially address the scale of the financial shortfall. The Trust continues to look at all available income and cost options. 

WHAT IS HAPPENING ON STRIKE DAYS? 

Who is covering when children come in on strike days? My child says they have different teachers. 

On strike days, the school puts alternative arrangements in place using staff who are not taking industrial action, alongside external providers. Pupils will not always be with their usual class team — that is an unavoidable consequence of the industrial action. We prioritise children with the highest levels of need and do everything we can to maintain safe, supportive, and engaging provision. We recognise this is not the same as a normal school day and we are sorry for the disruption it causes. 

My child is spending five hours on a single activity like a wordsearch. Is anyone managing the quality of what happens on strike days? 

That is not the standard we aim for and we want to hear about it. Please contact the school directly so we can look at what happened on that specific day and make sure provision is appropriate. We take the quality of strike day provision seriously and your feedback helps us improve it. 

On strike days, are there cuts to drama, art, and other lessons? 

On strike days the timetable operates differently and some activities will not take place as usual. We do our best to maintain a broad programme but this is not always possible when a significant number of staff are absent. We recognise the impact this has on children and we are sorry for it. 

IS EHCP PROVISION, SALT, AND OT BEING MAINTAINED? 

Will my child still receive SALT and OT? A parent asked about additional EHCP funding following family bereavements. 

We are doing everything we can to maintain the support set out in each child’s EHC Plan. Therapy provision — including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy — is a statutory requirement and we treat it as such. If you have a concern about your child’s specific provision, please contact the school directly. On the question of additional EHCP funding following significant life events such as bereavement — if you have not already done so, please speak to the school’s SENCO or Nick directly. We want to make sure every child is getting the support they need. 

WILL THE SCHOOL BE ABLE TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN STAFF? 

With new contracts, will you struggle to retain and recruit staff? How will you recruit with a limited budget? 

Pay protection means that staff who accept the variation will see no reduction in their take-home pay until February 2027, by which point we expect the April pay uplift to offset much or all of the reduction in hours. We do not believe the new terms will make Woodfield uncompetitive as an employer. Our experience in comparable restructures is that the majority of staff accept once the process is complete and the terms are clearly understood. We will use a combination of redeployment, internal transfers, and external recruitment as needed. 

You mentioned you no longer use agency staff. Who covers absences? 

The school has moved away from routine use of agency staff for general cover, which has been one of the cost-reduction measures. For specific roles where agency staff are needed — particularly where a child has a funded 1:1 arrangement — this is managed case by case. If you have a concern about cover for your child specifically, please contact the school. 

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO? 

Is there anything we can do as parents to support the school? Communications to the council, petitions? 

We are grateful for the offer of support. The most helpful thing parents can do right now is to contact the school directly if they have concerns about their child, to treat the school’s direct communications as the authoritative source of information, and to share any factual corrections if they see inaccurate information circulating. On the question of engaging with the council — the underlying funding issue affecting Woodfield and schools like it is a real one that deserves attention. If parents feel strongly about the structural underfunding of SEND provision, writing to your local councillor or MP is a legitimate and potentially helpful thing to do. We would not ask parents to take sides in the industrial dispute itself, but advocacy for better SEND funding is something we would welcome. 

THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN 

Do you understand the long-term impact this is having on children's mental wellbeing? What about the impact on children who cannot adjust to the change in routine? 

We do, and it weighs on us. We know that many of our pupils find disruption to routine particularly hard, and that the uncertainty of this period has been distressing for children and families alike. We are genuinely sorry for that. It is precisely because we care about the long-term wellbeing of our pupils that we have pressed ahead with a process that is painful in the short term: the alternative — a school in worsening financial difficulty — would cause far greater harm in the long run. If you are concerned about your child’s mental health or emotional wellbeing during this period, please speak to the school. We want to know and we want to help. 

Thank you again to everyone who took part. We know this has been an extremely difficult period and we are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have questions or concerns about your child. 

Yours sincerely, 

Nick Cooper 
Headteacher