Received from: GMB
Congress commends GMB and other National Joint Council (NJC) unions for securing Labour’s 2024 Manifesto commitment to reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).
Congress notes that:
i. support staff are predominantly women, are not always classroom-based and nearly half in England work in academy schools.
ii. years of academisation has fragmented pay, terms and conditions for support staff.
iii. NJC unions reject the government’s 3.2 per cent pay offer for local government and school staff as a real-terms pay cut after years of poverty pay and pensions.
Congress believes:
a. support staff provide an essential, highly professional and distinct role in schools to help children get the best start in life, especially children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
b. addressing the staffing crisis in schools and delivering high quality, inclusive education requires the SSSNB to set nationally agreed decent terms, conditions and pay rates, not minimum ‘floors’ that allow variation between local authorities
c. the government must collectively consult support staff members of NJC unions when reviewing funding and delivery of SEND provision in schools.
Congress calls on the government to work with NJC unions to:
1. ensure the SSSNB delivers a national terms and conditions handbook and nationally agreed fair rates of pay, training and career progression routes for all support staff, including in academies
2. ensure pay awards for support staff negotiated under the SSSNB are fully funded and implemented
3. bring outsourced support staff workforces back in-house
4. fully consult support staff on reforming term time only contracts to end low pay and pension poverty.
GMB
AMENDMENT
Add new bullet after bullet d.:
“e. excessive salaries for multi-academy trust CEOs divert resources from classrooms and frontline staff. Fair school funding must not prioritise inflated executive pay at the top.”
Add new bullet after bullet 4.:
“5. promote the status and recognition of school support staff as essential education professionals contributing to pupils’ success and wellbeing.”
UNISON