UNISON CALLS FOR BETTER DEAL FOR SUPPORT STAFF

Unison is calling for a better deal for the UK's teaching assistants and school support staff after a survey found a catalogue of unpaid overtime, low pay, increased workload and violence and abuse.

Dave Prentis, said: Unison will fight hard for a better deal for the UK's teaching assistants and school support staff. That includes a national pay structure that fairly rewards and recognises staff for their contribution to schools. Increased workload combined with low pay is sadly still endemic in the schools' sector. "Schools increasingly rely on support staff to deliver key learning priorities and cover for absent teachers. Yet far too many are not prepared to pay for this. They use a combination of ‘moral blackmail', threats of cuts and even intimidation to get support staff to take on ever increasing roles".

Unison is the largest education union in the UK, with 350,000 members working in schools, colleges, universities, early years, youth work, careers guidance and Ofsted, including 200,000 professional and support staff in schools.

Unison's annual conference taking place next week in Brighton will be discussing the plight of teaching assistants and school support staff.

The survey revealed:

• Average monthly take home pay for full-time Teaching Assistants (TAs) was £758 per month.
• TAs work an additional 12% above the contracted hours – most of it as unpaid overtime.
• Almost 80% of TAs believe they are badly paid.
• 65% report their workload has increased.
• 49% experienced violence and/or abuse at work.