Jobs lost as school is closed

A total of 17 teachers have been left jobless after the closure of a doomed Black Country school – costing taxpayers more than £350,000 in redundancy payments.

The staff at Cradley High have been forced out after the school was axed and education bosses were unable to find them positions elsewhere in the borough. Dudley Council chiefs had said just last month that they expected the majority of the remaining 22 teachers at the school in Homer Hill would be found new jobs when it finally closed its doors.

Shadow education boss and Cradley and Foxcote councillor Gaye Partridge said: “We have some excellent people working at Cradley High and it is bad news for everyone  if any are being made redundant.”

A report from Dudley’s director for children’s services, John Freeman, has said the drain on the cash-strapped council’s accounts would be accommodated within the school’s budget forecast.

Dudley Council spokeswoman Clare Beech said last month: “The majority of teaching staff to have already left Cradley High over the last 12 months have been found posts elsewhere.

“As with those teachers that have already moved on, we will look to find the remaining 22 positions at other schools in the borough.”

But a new report to the council reveals only five of those 22 have been redeployed.

The council signalled the death knell for Cradley High in February last year after almost 30 years, after it was revealed the school had fallen £500,000 into the red.

Dudley education chief, Councillor Liz Walker, had previously refused to give guarantees to staff.

“We will be going to all lengths to avoid any redundancies but is impossible to make any firm promises.

“But what we can say is we will do everything possible to find alternative employment for staff within the borough,” she said.

The closure of Cradley High came despite 73 per cent of pupils gaining five A to C grades in 2006.