Leeds Conservatoire: Staff and students shocked over fears of 'mass redundancies' at specialist arts college

A member of the student body at the specialist music and performing arts school said that a “leaked PowerPoint” presentation detailed a “fire and rehire strategy”.

The Conservatoire has responded and said that changes to the staff structure are being “proposed”, following a review of its management structure.

It confirmed the school was currently “in consultation with affected staff”.

The member of the student body, who contacted the Yorkshire Evening Post about the “restructuring” plans, said: “In reality this plan is a mass redundancy of staff, deliberately as a cost cutting measure. A leaked PowerPoint detailing these redundancies shows exactly this, in detail.

“The student body collectively are shocked by the decision, as we will lose most of the senior teaching staff on our courses.

"In essence, this is a ‘fire and rehire’ strategy. The sacrifice of vital teaching staff to cover the costs of past mismanagement.”

A spokesperson for Leeds Conservatoire said: “A number of changes are being proposed to the staff structure at Leeds Conservatoire. The staff affected are managers in our curriculum areas and support services.

“We are proposing these changes following a review of our management structure. The proposals aim to create an efficient and effective management structure that allows for growth in the future and protects the fundamental building blocks of our conservatoire identity.

“There are always financial challenges around delivering Higher Education in the UK, the most significant being that home student tuition fees have remained almost static for 10 years, having not kept pace with inflation.

“We are currently in consultation with affected staff and so cannot comment further.”