Teaching assistants quitting schools for supermarkets because of ‘joke’ wages

Headteachers across the country say they cannot fill vital teaching assistant vacancies and that support staff are taking second jobs in supermarkets to survive because their wages are “just a joke”.

Schools are reporting that increasing numbers of teaching assistants are leaving because they will not be able to pay for high energy bills and afford food this winter. And with job ads often attracting no applications at all, heads fear they will be impossible to replace. They warn this will have a serious impact on children in the classroom, especially those with special educational needs, and will make it increasingly hard for teachers to focus on teaching.

Sam Browne, headteacher at Radnage Church of England primary school in Buckinghamshire, said one of his most highly skilled TAs resigned a week ago in tears because she loved her job but wasn’t earning enough to manage.

“She has a child in nursery and by the time she has paid for childcare fees she is making £10 a day,” he said. “That was difficult before, but now she can’t survive.”

He added: “The pay for TAs and support staff is just a joke.”

Heads say they will struggle to fund the £1,925 pay rise for support staff, offered by local authorities with no extra cash for schools at the beginning of the summer. But they also argue it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

Long Furlong primary school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, has been advertising for over a year for a TA to provide one-to-one support for a vulnerable child with special needs. They have two similar vacancies and are on their fifth round of advertising.

Carol Dunne, the school’s headteacher, said: “I have just posted the ad on social media again, alongside an ad for the local Aldi which pays £11.40 an hour. Our position pays £10 an hour. So they will get more working in a supermarket.” Dunne added that one good candidate pulled out recently when she realised that she would be “worse off working at the school than on benefits”.

Claire Pegler, a full-time TA in a primary school in Gloucestershire, currently does evening and weekend shifts at a supermarket to keep her head above water. She told the Observer: “I’m on the edge and don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave the school, but I’m considering whether I will be able to cope better working full-time at the supermarket.”

Two of Pegler’s TA colleagues at the school have interviews next week for additional supermarket work. Her school has been advertising for TAs since April last year, and recently took on two apprentices as they had no applications. “I love my job, but I understand why people aren’t applying,” Pegler said. “Unless you’ve got a partner supporting you on a good wage, the pay isn’t survivable.”

Steve Howell, headteacher at City of Birmingham School, a pupil referral unit for pupils aged five to 16, said: “Five years ago, we would advertise for two TA posts and get 150 applicants. Now you are lucky to get three or four. We’re advertising for 10 TAs now and there is very little interest.”

Most of Howell’s pupils have behavioural needs and are “disaffected and disengaged from school” when they enrol. Howell employs a larger than average number of TAs to support the children, and says they are “the lifeblood of the school”.

“They are often the people who kids go to when they are angry or upset,” he explained. “They de-escalate behaviour issues, so that teachers can go on teaching.”

As well as being unable to recruit, Howell says hanging on to TAs is a “massive problem”. “It’s the first time in my 10 years of school leadership that support staff are saying they just can’t afford to keep doing their job any more. Working in a shop pays you more,” he said.

Mike Short, head of education at the union Unison, said support staff were leaving schools “in droves” as a result of “chronic low pay”.

He said: “Dedicated, experienced workers can’t make the sums add up as household bills soar. And schools can’t recruit new staff, which is a disaster for children’s education.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We are grateful for the work of all support staff in education, and we recognise that schools – much like wider society – are facing cost pressures.”

She added “it is for schools to set the pay of their support staff”, but said that the government was “increasing core school funding by £4bn this year, as well as capping their energy bills”.