UP TO 30 jobs could go at the troubled Basildon Academies due to budget cuts.

Caretakers, college heads, lab technicians and several teaching assistants are to go as the academies battle with what they say is a cash shortfall due to “Government funding cuts”.

However, insiders say the problem is down to “financial mismanagement” and the fact fewer parents are enrolling their children in the schools due to poor performance.

The £45million Basildon Academies brought together the former Chalvedon School as the Upper Academy and the former Barstable School as the Lower Academy and launched in a blaze of publicity in 2009.

However, just two months ago the academies received a scathing Ofsted report which flagged up poor discipline, high truancy rates and “dull and formulaic” lessons.

The academies would not reveal how many posts are for the chop. The Echo has learnt that caretakers covering both sites could be scaled down from six to two, lab technicians from 12 to six and head of college positions from nine to four.

The majority of cuts – expected to be 25 to 30 posts in total – will affect teaching assistants.

One teacher, who asked not be named hinted workers may try for a vote of no confidence in academies executive principal Alan Roach.

The teacher added: “You can imagine the atmosphere at the schools.

“You can’t cut these posts without having an impact on the education of pupils in some way. This is all down to financial mismanagement and too much cash being spent on the wrong things.

“The teaching assistants set to go will be mainly local women who work for low wages and who have built up close bonds with their pupils who rely on them.

“There are 250 pupils coming in for the 2011/2012 academic year while there is room for 450. It’s clear parents don’t want to send their children here. That’s a lot of money lost.”

A statement released from the academies’ governing body said they had made cuts to protect front-line teaching.

It added: “A review of financial and staffing commitments identifies a need to reduce the number of staff employed by the academies.

“However, governors have confirmed any reductions in staffing will not affect front-line teachers in the classroom.

“They are keen to ensure their financial resources are used to maximum effect and, as far as possible, will ensure students’ progress and achievement are protected from the effects of financial constraints. To achieve this requires wise and sometimes difficult choices.”

The governors said they would try to avoid compulsory redundancies.