Teaching assistants' pay

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on government moves to improve support staff arrangements for schools, enhancing the role and status of teaching assistants and support staff.
 
The new body is being set up to establish a negotiating forum for support staff pay and conditions, where the specific role they play is recognised fairly across all schools.

Stakeholder response: Professional Association Teachers

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PAT general secretary Philip Parkin said: "We are delighted that the government has made a commitment for a start date for the new body, although many support staff will be disappointed that they will have to wait nearly a year for it to  begin work.

"We look forward to contributing to this significant development. 

"PAT has been calling for a national pay and conditions structure for support staff for some time.

"School support staff play a vital role and deserve to be given a proper and professional career structure.

"At our 2006 conference, members called for 'a national pay and career structure that is commensurate with qualification, skills and ability and the huge responsibility undertaken when caring for and educating children'."

 

Stakeholder response: ATL

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Dr Mary Bousted, Association of Teachers and Lecturers general secretary, said: "We are pleased the government has finally recognised the invaluable role of support staff.  

"Teaching assistants and cover supervisors are professionals with specialist skills and deserve to be treated as such. 

"They play a key role in schools helping children's learning and should be treated the same as the other professional school staff, and be paid the same basic rate for their work where ever they are employed in England.   

"We have long campaigned for our support staff members to be treated as professional school staff with a national pay scale, terms and conditions.

"It's plainly wrong that many would be able to earn more stacking shelves in a supermarket than supporting a child with special educational needs.

"We hope these changes finally put an end to the exploitation of support staff ."