Teachers at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School in Liverpool are striking over plans to transfer the school into St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, amid a wider programme to move 217 schools across the Archdiocese of Liverpool into three Catholic academy trusts.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) are beginning strike action on Friday 11 September. The union says staff were not meaningfully consulted over the proposed academisation.
St Anthony’s is currently a voluntary aided Catholic school maintained by Liverpool City Council. Its proposed conversion forms part of the Archdiocese’s A Family in Christ: Our Future Together strategy, which will see 217 Catholic schools move into three trusts.
Humanists UK warned in May that the expansion risked entrenching religious control over state-funded education, particularly in areas including admissions, staffing, governance, religious education, and collective worship. It is now seeking further information from the Archdiocese of Liverpool about whether individual schools can choose not to take part in its academisation programme.
Humanists UK’s Policy and Campaigns Manager, Lewis Young, commented:
‘We previously warned about the growing concentration of publicly funded schools under large religious academy trusts. The dispute at St Anthony’s shows why transparency and accountability around these changes matter.
‘Parents, staff, and local communities deserve a genuine voice in decisions of this scale. No school community should feel that consultation is simply taking place after the important decisions have already been made.’
Notes
For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Head of Press and Campaign Communications Nathan Stilwell at press@humanists.uk or phone 0203 675 0959 (media only).
Read more about our work on state-funded faith schools.
Read more about the strike action.
Read our previous coverage on the Catholic trust expansion plans.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.