Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
I am writing to you as I have received formal notification of further upcoming industrial action being taken by the National Education Union (NEU). Given all of our concerns on the continued impact on students I am very sorry to be informing you of this. The dates I have been notified of are:
- Wednesday, 29 January 2025
- Thursday, 6 February 2025
- Friday, 7 February 2025
As you are now well aware the college has a significant number of teaching staff who are members of the NEU, which is taking action over pay and funding for Sixth Form Colleges. Further information can be found here you can also find the NEU's letter to the Secretary of State here.
Impact on College Operations
All exams will take place as usual so any student taking their Vocational exams during the action should come into college as per their exam timetable.
During all strike action, (29th January, 6th and 7th February 25) any lessons will take place IN COLLEGE so students should expect to have some of their lessons taking place. Lessons will go ahead IN COLLEGE if delivered by teaching staff who are not participating in the industrial action. Students will be notified on an individual basis by their teachers. Please note that we are unable to confirm in advance who is going to be on strike. To make any journeys worthwhile for those students who have less lessons than usual on a day we will also be opening up spare classrooms and providing study spaces for those students who wish to use the time to study in college.
INSET DAY- Monday 24th February 25, in order to try to mitigate the effect of lost learning particularly for those with examinations this year, we have now taken the decision to postpone the planned inset day on the first day back after February half term. Lessons are now going ahead onsite as usual as per students timetables for a Monday. The new date for this INSET is 2nd June 2025 which is the first day after May half term. Please accept my apologies for the unusual decision to postpone the INSET day twice, it is done with this years external assessments in mind, this date will not change again.
I know some of you may have planned breaks around the return to college on the 25th so we will be counting any non attendance on the 24th of February as authorised if students follow the usual absence procedure, via the button on MyVarndean. However, if students are able to come into college and attend their lessons that day I strongly encourage them to.
Apologies and Further Information
I sincerely apologise for the continued inconvenience caused and the impact the action is having. I have written to you previously about the reasons for the strike and the desire for parity to be given between us as designated (non academy) Sixth Form Colleges and our counterparts who are academy sixth form colleges. There are currently 32 Sixth Form Colleges taking part in this action. The Sixth Form Colleges Association is in negotiations with the NEU and other unions on behalf of all Sixth Form Colleges. We have also been notified that The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) are also balloting their members for strike action on the same matter. However, the vast majority of Varndean College staff are part of the NEU which is why the action continues to have such a significant impact on us.
I continue to lobby our local MPs to draw this action to a close. The transcript is here for the most recent debate in parliament brought by the MP for Mid-Sussex Alison Bennett on Monday 13th January 25. You may also have seen the press coverage here of both one of our staff members Fleur Hemmings and one of our Year 2 students Amelie Lockhart accompanying Alison Bennett to Parliament.
We will continue to keep you updated with any changes as soon as they arise.
Once again, I thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.
Best wishes,
Donna-Marie Janson
Principal
