Parents and staff at Hady Primary School have been left devastated by plans to sack half of all the Teaching Assistants at the Chesterfield-based school.

Local MP, Toby Perkins, has now called an urgent meeting with staff and representatives from Unison to discuss concerns about the cuts being ordered by bosses at Chorus Education Trust.

Toby Perkins said, “I was alerted to these proposals by concerned parents who are very worried about the devastating impact these cuts will have on the quality of their children’s education. We already have a SEND crisis across Britain, which is particularly acute in Derbyshire and as the government has just announced a big increase in SEND funding for next year, it seems like a terrible time to be thinking of cutting TAs from our classrooms.

I have arranged a meeting with staff from the school and Unison to discuss in detail the potential impact of the proposals and I will taking this up with the Chorus Education Trust and the Department for Education.”

Information shared with parents suggest that Chorus Trust Academy are looking to halve the amount of teaching assistants in Hady Primary School from September 2025.

Parents and staff are warning that the proposals mean that in some cases, one teaching assistant would be required to cover three classes. Fears are that children will no longer receive the level of support they require and teachers will be put under additional pressure by having to manage large classes on their own.

Toby added, “Chorus only took over Hady Primary through academisation last year, and so it is very disappointing that after only a few months in charge, we are seeing cuts of this scale to staff and support. All of our children deserve the best education possible and that requires having enough staff in all our schools.”