The Employment Rights Bill will bring back the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. Mike Short considers what must be on the new body’s to-do list
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Alongside a raft of changes to workers’ rights, the new government’s Employment Rights Bill (2024) contains provision to reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

At UNISON, we have been pushing for this to happen ever since the last government ditched the SSSNB in a high-profile snub to teaching assistants, premises staff, lunchtime workers and all of the other support staff who work alongside teachers and leaders to ensure children get the education they deserve in a positive, safe environment. This was 14 years ago.

Our members in schools had got used to being disregarded by the government, while the realities of their working lives have got ever bleaker.

In a survey of more than 13,000 school support staff last year, we found that virtually every respondent (96%) was concerned that their pay was not enough to cope with the rising cost of living; 1 in 7 had needed to use a food bank in the last year; and more than one-quarter had taken on a second or third job to make ends meet.

Early signs from the Labour government are positive. Like children and families across the country, education secretary Bridget Phillipson understands the value of school support staff.

When the Employment Rights Bill was published, she stated: “Support staff make up over half the workforce and our schools would grind to a halt without our brilliant teaching assistants, catering staff, care-takers and many more vital roles.

“They make a huge contribution to children’s education and the smooth running of our schools.”

The SSSNB will bring all school support staff in England out of the local government NJC (National Joint Council for Local Government Services) pay negotiations and into the new negotiating body. For too long, school support staff have predominantly been stuck at the lower end of a local government pay system that fails to recognise the value they bring to children’s education and lives – providing focused, one-to-one support to pupils with SEND; ensuring children eat regular nutritious food; making sure schools run smoothly and effectively…

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone’s pay will double overnight, or that problems like insecure working, having to do teachers’ jobs, or excessive workloads will be resolved easily.

But it does mean that trade union representatives who work in schools, and who understand and have experienced their colleagues’ day-to-day realities, will be able to negotiate with school employers and the government and make the case for change.

The SSSNB won’t just be a pay negotiating body. It will have the power to negotiate on the full range of workplace conditions.

Our members have told us that they want the new body to look at the thorny issue of teaching assistant cover. They are concerned that teaching assistants are increasingly being used as teachers on the cheap.

They also want it to address the predominance of term-time only contracts – how can it be fair that support staff pay drops to zero during the school holidays, unlike that of their teacher colleagues?

And they want the new body to address the woefully out-of-date job descriptions that downplay the vital work they do.

The body will also discuss training and career progression. Many school support staff want to develop in their roles, gain new skills, make the most of the experience they have gained – but the opportunities to do this are far too limited.

Crucially, the SSSNB will cover all school support staff in state-funded schools in England, including academies and multi-academy trusts. This is the right approach. There are different views on the reliance on academies in the English education system, but academisation cannot be allowed to be about undercutting maintained schools on pay. In reality, the vast majority of academies and MATs have been happy to follow nationally negotiated pay agreements, and so the same should apply with the SSSNB.

And school employers will have more of a voice in the new system, so it should be better for everyone.

We don’t expect it to be plain sailing, and the existence of a negotiating body doesn’t in itself guarantee improved pay and conditions. It will need to be backed up by increased funding from the government, so that decent pay is possible. In that sense school support staff are in a similar position to their teacher colleagues and workers across public services.

But the new-found voice and sense of ownership for school support staff is positive, and the recognition of the professionalism and value they bring to schools and other education settings is a huge step.

We look forward to working with the government and employers to make the SSSNB a success.

 

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