Families in Derbyshire facing the challenge of school strikes

Parents have said it is "a stressful time for their children" after strikes at a school academy in Derbyshire. Staff at nine schools in the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi‑Academy Trust voted to take industrial action over planned redundancies and pay cuts they have said will impact pupils' education. The Derby-based trust has said it needs to make the cuts because of the financial situation it is in. Dawn, 16, who is doing GCSEs at Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy in Ilkeston, said of the strikes: "You are thinking about these exams, you are thinking about the strike days and you are just so uncertain." "It adds a bit of panic - it really does," added Dawn. Teachers belonging to trade union Unison and the National Education Union (NEU) started the walkouts on 21 April, leading to changes in lessons in the run‑up to exams. Dawn's mother, Sy, from Stapleford, in Nottinghamshire, said: "The preparations for the exams were going well until the strikes. "You could see that shift in mood. Dawn needed more reassurance - we have needed to work more to reassure her." The trust has schools in Derby, Derbyshire, East Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire. The Priory Catholic Volunt