Greenwich Council has insisted it is on the side of schools as teachers at two local schools went on strike.

Teachers at Plumstead Manor and Corelli College went on strike last Thursday (April 20), with the teachers at the former continuing their industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday (April 25 and 26).

The action was over proposed redundancies and “financial difficulties” – which Plumstead Manor School said was the same as many other schools - in the wake of Government cuts.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) placed a portion of the blame on the local council but the council’s cabinet member for children and young people insisted that they are on the same side.

Cllr Miranda William said: “We absolutely share the concerns of parents and the unions and have submitted a response to the national consultation regarding the government’s Funding Formula proposals and passed a motion, in the Council Chamber, condemning the suggested cuts. We will also continue to lobby government.

“Regardless of the outcome of the government’s consultation on how to fund schools, the rising school population and increases in the cost of services mean that even without cuts our schools face increasing costs which have a serious impact on their budgets.”

However, the NUT is insisting that they believe a portion of the blame lies at the council’s door.

Kirstie Paton, assistant secretary of Greenwich NUT, said: “Often local authorities will step in to take on deficits of schools converting to academy status so that they have a clean slate.

“If it’s good enough for academies, then why not our local authority schools? It’s not our deficit and we don’t think students and staff should lose out due to mistakes that were made in the past.”

Cllr Williams has insisted it is not that simple. She said: “Unfortunately we as a local authority cannot just step in and solve the problems at Plumstead Manor and Corelli College as has been suggested.

“The Local Schools Finance scheme - which was agreed by the Schools Forum, a statutory body made up of representatives across all Greenwich schools - states that we cannot write off deficit balances without the agreement of the schools community.

“If they were to decide to reallocate the Dedicated Schools Grant this would have a significant financial impact on all other local schools.

“The Council cannot write off debts at the expense of the local taxpayer and has already faced cuts of more than £100m in funding since 2010 and is dealing with a range of budget pressures.

“Corelli College is also designated as an academy so its budgets and deficits do not fall under local authority control.

“While we are very concerned and are providing extensive support at the school, any restructures are a decision for each school’s senior management and governance alone.”