School caretakers in Keighley have expressed fears of losing both their homes and livelihoods during the shake-up. With middle schools closing throughout the area, many caretakers are concerned about their jobs and whether they will be made homeless.

Caretakers often live on-site in accommodation provided by the council. So far no decision has been made by the council about the fate of their homes and jobs.

The uncertainty also stretches to other support staff such as dinner ladies and secretaries, vital cogs in the school machinery.

Roy Weatherall has been a caretaker at Calversyke Middle and Guardhouse First for seven years, and his concern centres on young caretakers with families. He says: "I know caretakers who live on site and some have young families, so they will obviously be very uneasy.

"A lot of support staff are very concerned about their jobs, and no one seems to be giving them any definite answers. I think it is time the local education authority gave us some answers to get all the uneasiness out of the way.

Chairman of the education committee Cllr Jim Flood says: "We have a 'no compulsory redundancy' policy at Bradford council, and we intend to continue that. It will take around three to four years to implement all of the changes, and this will give us time to re-locate staff into new positions.

"During past education cuts we have always managed to relocate staff into other positions, and we anticipate everyone will be slotted into something that suits them."

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