A UNION has raised doubts about the leadership of an Oxford school after it projected a financial deficit of £900,000.

As reported on the front of yesterday's Oxford Mail, Cheney School in Headington is consulting on a raft of staff redundancies to cut costs.

No teachers are affected but jobs are at risks in teams including school counselling and special needs support.

The National Education Union (NEU), which is supporting some of the affected staff, has now commented.

On Monday, a majority of its members at Cheney passed a vote of no confidence against Jolie Kirby.

Ms Kirby is Cheney's former headteacher and is currently chief executive of the Community Schools Alliance Trust, which runs Cheney.

READ AGAIN: Jobs could be axed at Oxford school

She is also the trust's accounting officer and signed off on the trust's most recent annual financial records, for the year ending August 2018.

Stuart Robinson, joint district and branch secretary of the Oxfordshire branch, said: "NEU Oxfordshire is aware of the situation at Cheney and is in consultation with the school's management over the proposed restructure.

"Where redundancies are proposed the NEU would hope that any employer would do all it can to avoid compulsory redundancies and would manage a reduction in staff through redeployment and voluntary redundancies.

"NEU members in the school have passed a motion of no Confidence in the CEO and accounting officer of Community Schools Alliance Trust, Jolie Kirby."

The union did not state how many members had backed the motion.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "The NEU wrote to the chair of governors and chair of trustees on March 2 to express a vote of no confidence and this has been acknowledged by both parties.

"Relevant parties are working on a response to counter the claims in the vote of no confidence."