The Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST), which runs Sturminster Newton and Shaftesbury schools, is pushing ahead with plans to cut teachers’ jobs and cut the pay of subject leads and head of year posts.

NASUWT believes this is unacceptable and will significantly impact the remaining teachers’ workloads and their pay and status and will be detrimental to pupils’ education.

SAST has made a number of teachers redundant in a cost-cutting exercise and now expects to have an Executive Head of Department to be shared between Shaftesbury School and Sturminster Newton High school.

NASUWT members at both Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton schools have taken strike action over the plans, with further days of action planned in September.