Send school staff confirm strikes will go ahead

Staff at three schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) have announced the dates they will strike on over pay.

The walkouts will take place at Columbus School & College in Chelmsford, Pioneer in Basildon and Lift Clacton's The Key on 28 January and again between 5 and 13 February.

The action was agreed by teaching assistants, pastoral support workers and other support staff in December.

Lift Schools multi-academy trust, which runs the three sites, said it had offered a "significant increase in pay" to teaching assistants at the schools.

Support staff often deal with behaviour management issues and oversee personal and medical care.

Public service union UNISON said Send teachers at Lift Schools should receive up to £5,500 extra a year for the responsibilities that came with their jobs.

It said those challenges made it harder to retain staff and caused upset to students who needed familiar faces to thrive.

Leighanne Merchant, a learning support assistant at Pioneer, said: "Staff are taking this action for the children's benefit.

"They deserve consistent, permanent staff who know them and their needs."

Bea Bartilucci, from UNISON, claimed Lift Schools had refused to negotiate with staff.

"Managers urgently need to get their act together so that we can avoid these strikes," she added.

A spokeswoman for Lift Schools said it could not agree to proposals suggested by the staff, but had offered them a pay rise backdated to September 2025.

"All of our support staff are incredibly valued, and we want to take meaningful action to recognise their work," she said, adding the strike action was "disappointing".

"Our priority is always the stability, wellbeing and continuity of education for our pupils and families."

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