Support staff suspend walkout at SEND schools
GoogleTeaching support staff at special needs schools in Essex have suspended strike action after a new pay offer was put forward.
Staff at two schools – Lift Columbus in Chelmsford and Lift Pioneer in Basildon – have staged a series of walkouts over a lack of pay allowance for the specialist skills and support they say they offer.
Their union, Unison, said an allowance was offered by Lift during talks at conciliation service Acas and strike action would no longer take place while details of the deal were agreed and voted upon.
A spokesperson for Lift Schools said a meeting with Unison had been "constructive" and talks were continuing.
"Staff are over the moon they'll be able to go into work on Monday doing the jobs they love and supporting their students," said Unison Eastern area organiser Bea Bartilucci.
"All they wanted was an allowance like that paid to thousands of other SEN (special educational needs) support staff across the country.
"Lift's offer still falls short of what workers asked for, but strikes have been suspended while the deal is being considered."
Families of children at one of the schools told the BBC they had been facing a "scary" time waiting for a resolution.
They had carried out eight days of strike action in January and this month, and were due to declare further days later in the term.
Unison, which represents the teaching assistants, pastoral support workers and other support staff who walked out, said the employees were asking for pay equity.
"Teachers receive the allowance to acknowledge the skills and attributes required with an SEN setting, it feels fair and equitable that the school support staff should receive that also because they're co-educators," regional organiser Cameron Matthews said previously.
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