UP to 13 members of non-teaching staff could be made redundant from a Kidderminster academy, The Shuttle can reveal.

A consultation of staff facing the axe from King Charles I School, in Comberton Hill, is underway and a document setting out the proposed restructure of the workforce has been drawn up.

The document, which has been seen by The Shuttle, outlines the 13 out of a total of 52 non-teaching jobs that are potentially under threat.

These are six out of 23 admin staff, four out of nine site staff, one out of six education support staff, one out of 10 lunchtime supervisors and one of the four current ICT technicians.

Academy chiefs said a proposed cut to the Education Services Grant (ESG) it receives from the Government in the next two years and falling student numbers adding further pressures to its budget were among the reasons for the job cuts.

King Charles also faces further uncertainty over future funding arrangements as the Department for Education is considering scrapping the ESG system and drawing up a new system from 2018.

But they stressed that no final decision has been made at this stage and they were working to support staff involved.

A spokesman for King Charles I School said: "We can confirm that, due to budgetary issues, the school is currently in consultation with staff over a possible restructure of non-teaching staff.

“We regret the need for this restructure and understand that this will be a distressing time for all members of the non-teaching team.

“Our priority will be to support and engage with staff during this time, and work to reach the best outcome for our school and students."

Stuart Harrison, regional organiser for the GMB Union representing the affected staff, said: “We are now going to meet with governors and the head teacher tonight (Thursday, March 28) as part of the consultation process.

“We will be looking to put forward some proposals and suggestions in an attempt to make this situation a little better than it is.

“Staff at King Charles are my top priority at the moment but I also think the issue of fairer funding for schools in Worcestershire needs to be looked into.

“I have arranged to meet with Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier and Worcester MP Robin Walker, who is on the committee looking into fairer funding, next month to discuss this and the current situation at King Charles.”

The staff consultation on the proposals is set to end on Tuesday (May 3) after which all responses will be considered.