Six employees of The Pontville independent specialist day school in Ormskirk have been suspended amid claims that leaks from a staff WhatsApp group led to the action. The suspensions come during a period of turmoil at the school, where more than 20 staff members have been told they are facing redundancy.
Details of Suspensions and Redundancies
The Pontville School, based in Black Moss Lane and operated by the Witherslack Group, caters for the needs of "the most complex neurodiverse young people." According to staff, the number of pupils has dropped from around 155 to 100, leading bosses to make a large number of redundancies. In total, seven teachers, 12 teaching assistants, and two administrative staff are being made redundant. Pontville bosses did not dispute these numbers when put to them.
School sources said the decision to make redundancies has not been taken lightly and comes after an extensive period of consultations and financial planning for the upcoming academic year. They insist the changes are being made purely to align staffing levels with anticipated pupil numbers while maintaining the quality of provision. The school says the reduction in staffing levels will not be proportional to the drop in student numbers, and students will continue to benefit from high staffing ratios after the redundancies.
Allegations of WhatsApp Group Leaks
Staff members have claimed that the six suspended employees are all among those facing redundancy and were part of a WhatsApp group formed after the redundancy process was announced last month. It is alleged that messages from this group were leaked to management, after which action was taken. One staff member said: "All of these people who have been suspended have been asking difficult questions, they were all in the WhatsApp group. The suspensions were then pretty public. Some people were pulled out of lessons or meetings and then made to leave the premises."
School sources reiterated that the suspensions do not relate to the reduction in staffing levels and relate "solely to alleged conduct issues."
Culture of Fear Among Staff
A staff member said the recent action has led to a culture of fear at the school. They added: "Everyone is living in fear and wondering if they will be next every time a member of the Senior Leadership Team approaches them." On the redundancy process, they added: "It just feels like they are trying to rush this through before the end of the summer term." Pontville sources denied this claim, insisting that the necessary time will be given for staff consultation.
Responding to the latest claims, a spokesperson for Pontville School said: "Pontville School is aware of claims being made in relation to this matter that do not reflect the full facts of the situation. While we are unable to comment on individual cases, we are following our established human resources procedures carefully and will take whatever time is necessary to fully conclude these processes. Our focus remains on providing the highest-quality education and care for our students whilst this matter is ongoing."
