By Shola Adenekan

Ministers want assistants to take on more tasks

While the welfare of teachers and their pupils often hogs the media spotlight, support staff say the myriad of daily problems they face in their jobs are missed by many.

"There is very little recognition of our knowledge and skills," says Linda Pollard, a secretary at a special school in Gloucestershire.

"Even though I have a very supportive head-teacher and co-staff, greater recognition by local education authorities (LEAs) and the government will improve the way we feel."

Ms Pollard says she has thought of leaving but at 51 she cannot afford to. Her frustration is shared by many non-teaching staff in our schools. They say they feel undervalued and not really necessary to children's education, but there merely to fill in the gaps when the system breaks down.

'Poor pay'

Lee (not his real name), is a graduate and a learning support assistant (LSA) at a Midlands school. He says while working conditions at his school are generally good in terms of how learning support assistants are treated as part of the staff team, he thinks problems lie in a few key areas.

"First the pay is low for unqualified LSAs - about �8,000. In fact, I now get paid less now than when I worked in pubs or supermarkets," he says.

"And there's massive amount of confusion amongst teachers especially and students as to the role of LSAs."

Support staff don't earn enough to get on the property ladder Mike, IT technician

"Many teachers regard us as their assistants rather than as people who assist students. This means that LSAs, if they're unwilling to clarify this issue with teachers, spend their time carrying and photocopying, or dealing with behaviour issues, instead of removing obstacles to students' education.

"This does not only waste our time, but limits the pace and quality of learning for children who struggle at school.

"We are always considered last in the general scheme of things. This ranges from allocation of resources to input into planning and school strategies, to receipt of general information."

Mike, an IT technician at an inner-city school, agrees. "With the government's new remodelling scheme being pushed through, it will soon mean teachers have even less of a workload while the support staff are expected to take on more of a 'understudy' teaching role," he fumes.

"Perhaps if politicians were to see the 'real' workings of a school, rather than the facade shown to them when official visits happen, they would realise that there are more than just teachers working in a school; and these people would like to see more money for working in a stressful environment rather than seeing teachers afford to buy a second home while support staff don't earn enough to get on the property ladder."

Reform plan

There are around 243,000 support staff in England and Wales and experts agree that they are vital to the smooth-running of our education system.

For many parents, the school secretary and the school office are often the first port of call when they phone or visit school. The overwhelming majority work part-time on less than �8 an hour.

In July 2004, the local government employers and the three main support staff unions - Unison, TGWU and GMB - agreed a three-year pay deal, along with a package of reforms, and a six-point reform plan which included agreement to bring forward comprehensive proposals for modernised pay and rewards policies in all local authorities.

In pay terms, over three years, the government says the deal is worth 2.75% in year one and 2.95% in each of years two and three.

Assistants often do photocopying for teachers

However, the GMB union says it does not believe enough has been done to provide frameworks, safeguards and standards for how support staff are managed and supported.

The union alleges schools are asking administrative staff to do more and more on the basis of goodwill, without putting in place the measures to manage those developments, and without clear frameworks set at local education authorities and at national level on pay and grading.

A recent survey by the union suggests that two-thirds of administrative staff in England and Wales regularly work in excess of their contractual hours. This amounts to an estimated total saving on staff costs of �1m a week.

"School admin staff are dedicated people. There is no doubt their goodwill is being taken for granted, especially when we hear the government saying it wants to increase the hours that schools are open.

"The sad fact is that, for all the talk of reform and investment, Muggins is alive and well and being relied upon to keep our schools running," says Brian Strutton, GMB national secretary.

"School heads must ensure that they've done a proper review of the administrative and clerical function within the school and then staff it accordingly."

"Our survey also revealed the difficulties staff experience through poor office facilities and layout, and cumbersome security systems. Some of these problems could easily be addressed."

However, Mike Walker, director of negotiations at the Employers' Organisation for local government, denies these stories reflect the general picture.

The prospects for support staff have never been better Rona Tutt, president NAHT

"I'm very disappointed with the GMB union. The ink has not even dry and Mr Strutton is trying to re-write the agreement signed in July," he says. " We have increased staff and we've set up career structures. We told them that career progression can be limited in small schools."

For its part, the government says it values support staff and that under current reform programmes, it is providing improved training opportunities for all school staff.

"We are working with LEAs to increase these opportunities," says a spokesperson for the Department of Education and Skills.

"In some schools, administrative staff have moved into working as learning mentors and teachers."

"Schools are in fact recruiting record numbers of support staff and at the most recent count, with an increase of over 106,000 since 1997."

With no end to the squabbling between the unions, the government and local government employers, despite the July agreement, Dr. Rona Tutt, the president of National Association of Head Teachers wades in and says it will take time to get things back in balance, but that there are moves in the right direction.

"I think the prospects for support staff have never been better. A far wider range of opportunities is now available to them and a proper career structure is emerging for them, such as the chance to train as a high level teaching assistants," she says.