Press Release

PAT SCOTLAND WELCOMES REPORT ON CLASSROOM ASSISTANTS

30 May 2007

PAT Scotland has welcomed the Report of theFormal Investigation into the Role and Status of Classroom Assistants.  

PAT Professional Officer (Scotland) Jim O’Neill said: "With its unique membership base, incorporating a growing number of classroom assistants alongside teachers, lecturers and nursery nurses, PAT is uniquely placed to comment on the 'Valuable Assets' Report. We were delighted to be involved in the investigation, both through the Advisory Panel and through the number of our members involved in the research.

"We give a warm welcome to the report as a whole.  It is our impression that our classroom assistant members will feel vindicated by the positive nature of the report which, by highlighting some of the excesses of their working conditions, brings these problems and difficulties into the public forum. 

"The real success of the report, however, will be measured by the degree of support it gets from those in authority and how quickly the Scottish Executive, the local authorities and head teachers move to implement the mainrecommendations.

"What we will be looking for is a concerted effort by all concerned to raise the status, morale and remuneration of this growing band of people who are such an important part of the work in Scotland’s schools. 

"Our one concern is that the report does not go the whole way and recommend a national pay scale for classroom assistants.  PAT does not accept the argument (not included in the report) that this would be impossible to achieve. Such a step would go a long way to tackling the scandal of some classroom assistants’ annualised hourly rate of pay being less than the national minimum wage."

Notes  

PAT Scotland is a section of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT), which represents teachers, lecturers, childcarers, and classroom/teaching assistants and other education support staff (Professionals Allied to Teaching (PAtT) section) across the UK.

PAT Professional Officer (Scotland) Jim O’Neill was a member of the Advisory Board for the EOC’s Formal Investigation into the Role and Status of Classroom Assistants:

Equal Opportunities Commission: Formal Investigation into the Role and Status of Classroom Assistants: www.eoc.org.uk/valuableassets