[ad_1]
School support staff are dipping into their own pockets to help pay for food, stationery and uniforms for needy students, while skipping meals and taking on multiple jobs to pay their own bills, a union survey has found.
A poll by Unison found that teaching assistants (TA), catering and cleaners, librarians and sports coaches, who are among the lowest paid workers in the sector, struggle to pay their own bills, but still support students. Moving forward.
Almost all of the 6,700 respondents (98%) to the UK-wide survey said they were worried that their salary would not cover rising living costs, although more than a third (35%) said they paid for meals or packed lunches for students. Helped to pay.
More than one in five (23%) have used their own money to pay for books, pens and pencils for their pupils, while 30% have helped families struggling with the cost of school uniforms.
One in eight school support staff have had to use food banks themselves in the past year and may need to turn to them again, or rely on family for help. More than a quarter have taken on second or third jobs to make ends meet – including work in security, supermarkets, delivery driving, hospitality, beauty, tuition, cleaning and care.
About half said they were actively looking for better-paying work elsewhere — often in retail — because they couldn’t make ends meet on their current salaries, Unison said. Recruitment websites currently advertise TA jobs in London for around £80-£100 per day.
More than two out of five people surveyed had borrowed money to help support family finances in the past year. Others have tried to cut bills by buying extra blankets (55%), heating a room (31%) or not using the heating at all even when needed for health reasons (30%). Meanwhile 8% used public spaces to keep warm and avoid using their own heating.
The survey highlighted a number of cases, including that of Geoff (not his real name), who supports children with special educational needs and has worked in schools for more than 20 years.
He said: “I work two jobs to make ends meet and take one day off a month. I can’t turn on the heating. Instead I bought an electric blanket that cost me a penny an hour to keep me warm. There is no incentive to do this work other than the love of education and students.”
Sue (again, not her real name) has been a teaching assistant for 10 years and is considering leaving the field. “I have a three-year-old and I’m struggling to pay for childcare. We live with my parents because we are trying to buy a house, but our mortgage offer was withdrawn because we couldn’t afford to pay more. I am thinking of taking another job or quitting work altogether.”
Unison’s head of education, Mike Short, said: “Even though education workers are experiencing difficult times themselves, they are still helping less fortunate students and their families. It speaks volumes about their generosity and dedication, but it should never have come to this. The government should hang its head in shame.”
The poll was conducted from October 20 to November 1, with the majority of responses from staff working in primary schools (59%), followed by secondary schools (24%), special schools (11%), nurseries (5%) and student referral units (1 %).
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We are incredibly grateful for the work of all support staff in education and understand the pressures many people are facing at the moment due to the challenges of the recession and high inflation.
“While decisions on pay are up to individual schools, head school budgets will be increased by £2bn in each of the next two years, thanks to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already highlighted that lifting school spending in real terms will at least be back to 2010 levels. will allow a return to — the highest-spending year in history — which means we’ll spend more on schools than ever before.”
[ad_2]
Source link
