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One in four school support staff describe their financial situation as “struggling to survive” or “difficult”

UNISON and RCN call for urgent action as survey reveals school support staff being pressured to carry out complex treatments

Dedicated staff using food banks and cutting back on heating to cope in cost-of-living crisis

We can help learning support staff in Wales prepare for registration – just ask us in

Nearly half of teaching assistants at Pot Kiln Primary School in Suffolk face the sack, UNISON reveals today. The Sudbury school plans to lay off up to 15 of its 36 classroom assistants and midday supervisors, blaming an “unforeseen” budget shortfall of £75,000 and flagging student numbers. Pot Kiln claims it has more teaching assistants […]

Striking Suffolk primary school staff will take their jobs fight directly to county councillors next week as they hand in a 600-strong petition at the council’s HQ. Hundreds of parents and Sudbury residents have signed the petition urging Pot Kiln Primary leaders and the council to abandon plans to sack classroom assistants and midday supervisors. […]

More than two in five (42%) teaching assistants, caretakers, cleaners and other school support staff in the east of England are actively looking for better paid jobs because of the rising cost of living and persistent low pay in education, according to a UNISON survey released today. The survey responses paint a bleak picture of […]

With many schools across the UK reopening classrooms this week, UNISON Eastern acting regional secretary talked to activists in Thurrock about going back to school for his latest blog post. The government’s rush to reopen classrooms has been the main front in UNISON’s battle against coronavirus in recent weeks. Many schools have encouraged extra students […]

Teaching assistants, caretakers, cleaners and other school support staff in Hertfordshire will no longer have their wages stopped when they go off sick, UNISON announces today. Staff in schools run by Hertfordshire County Council were having their pay stopped for two days when they were too ill to work after the council changed its contractual […]

Staff at scandal-struck Aspire Academy in Harlow are voting on industrial action over concerns for their health and safety, UNISON announces today. The school for students outside mainstream education, part of the TBAP multi-academy trust, was the subject of a BBC Panorama investigation in March after the head teacher blew the whistle on serious financial […]

Covid-19 continues to disrupt our daily life both at home and in work. We continue to need things to look forward to and help us manage what we are facing. In UNISON learning, we believe that education is one way of doing this – either by learning about what we face or strengthening our skills […]

UNISON has partnered with Cruse again to provide some specialist training for dealing with grief in young people and children. This online workshop run by Cruse Bereavement Care is offered to UNISON members who work with children and young people. While staff who work with these groups may already have some experience in dealing with […]

UNISON has arranged three online workshops for members with YGAM (Young Gamblers & Gamers Education Trust) aimed at members working with young people, from primary aged children all the way up to university aged young adults. YGAM are a UK charity and the online training sessions they will be delivering are designed to equip you with the knowledge and resources to […]

UNISON Ealing branch are celebrating after securing a 21.7% pay rise for 300 staff working under the Ealing schools catering contract.  In December 2020, it came to light that the vast majority of the 300 staff who work under the Ealing schools catering contract in around 55 primary schools are paid below the London living […]

Commenting on the report on school safety from the committee of independent scientists chaired by Sir David King published today (Friday), UNISON regional secretary, Clare Williams said: “This is the evidence school staff and parents have been waiting for. Not only do these scientists say the government’s plans for schools in England are premature, they also suggest […]