STAFF at a primary school are set to take strike action over plans to convert the school to an academy.

The decision comes after the Interim Executive Board, which has run Peacehaven Primary School since 2019, put forward plans to hold a consultation on academy conversion this autumn.

National Education Union (NEU) members at the school will take strike action on Wednesday, May 5.

A survey found that two thirds of the school’s staff said they would be “likely or very likely to leave” if the school was converted into an academy, according to the East Sussex NEU.

The proposed strike action is the latest move in an ongoing row over the school’s leadership.

The normal governing bodies were sacked after they decided not to hand the school over to a private academy trust in 2019.

The school has been led by five different headmasters over the last five years.

Parent campaigners say the IEB has made decisions without consulting parents, including the decision to fill the school’s swimming pool with concrete.

More than 30 parents, staff members and local politicians attended a Zoom meeting this week to discuss the issues.

Vicky Hawkins, a parent of a child in Year 3, says she is “incredibly concerned” about the “prolonged lack of leadership and described the turnover of headteachers as a “revolving door.”

She said: “We need an elected governing body back in place and a headteacher secured very soon in order to restore the nurturing and stable environment our children desperately need.

“The amazing teachers and staff need our support now otherwise I fear most of them will feel forced to leave, and this would be utterly devastating for Peacehaven Heights.”

Kelly Wilson, a parent campaigner, said: “I am extremely concerned with the lack of stable leadership and lack of transparency with the closure of the pool.

We need to support the hard-working staff and bring the unique community feel back to the school which can only be achieved with a stable head and local governors who have the best interests of the children at heart.”

East Sussex County Council confirmed that consultations on academy conversation will take place in autumn this year.

A spokesman said: The decision to consult on academy conversion is, in this instance, made by the IEB which has confirmed that, in response to concerns from some parents, the board will not hold a consultation until the autumn term when all the current Covid-19 lockdown requirements are removed so that everyone is reassured it is a meaningful consultation.

“It has recently been confirmed by the IEB at Peacehaven Heights that the current interim headteacher will remain in post until Easter 2022.”