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Pay classroom assistants all year round - union

News imageNoreen Robinson Shows a woman with fair hair and blue eyes looking at the camera. She is wearing a colourful scarf and light grey jacket with black sleeves. She is standing in front of a wall.Noreen Robinson
Noreen Robinson, of Unison, says classroom assistants need better working conditions

Northern Ireland's Education Authority (EA) has been urged to scrap term-time-only contracts for classroom assistants (CAs), as it announced changes to the role.

Almost 22,000 CAs work in schools in Northern Ireland, but many are only paid during the term and not all year round.

Noreen Robinson from Unison said that must change in favour of 52-week contracts as many CAs feel under valued for the work they do.

A recent review of Northern Ireland's education system has also recommended fewer CAs to help children with special educational needs (SEN).

"We have listened to and engaged with our membership, and they want changes within their jobs," Robinson told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"Parents really do know the value of a classroom assistant, and they understand the enhancement of the learning and development of their children," Robinson said.

"There have been discussions about a classroom assistant potentially working with more than one child, whereas currently a classroom assistant works on a one-to-one basis with each child because every child has different needs."

News imageA man and a woman stand side by side in front of a curtain. The woman, with short dark hair, is standing on the left. The man is on the right. Both are wearing winter coats.
Noleen and Simon O'Hagan told the meeting a classroom assistant had helped their daughter reach her full potential

Dr Simon O'Hagan and his wife Noleen were among those who attended a meeting organised by Unison in Londonderry on Thursday night to discuss the role of classroom assistants.

Their daughter Dara is autistic and they said working on a one-to-one basis with a classroom assistant had "allowed her to flourish".

"I think that Dara would have struggled completely without having one-on-one teaching support," he said.

"Without that we would have been getting phone calls to say: 'Dara can't cope. Dara needs to go home.'"

He said the Department of Education (DE) needed to think "long and hard" if considering a model that would remove one-on-one support from pupils like Dara.

News imageA smiling woman with long fair hair stands in front of a advertising board. She is wearing dark rimmed glasses and a blue and white top
Juliana Harkin says the classroom assistant role has changed dramatically over the last decade

Juliana Harkin has been a classroom assistant for 10 years and works at Ardnashee School and College in the city.

She said their role is multi-skilled, integral to the education system, and yet had been made to feel "undervalued".

"People don't realise what a classroom assistant actually does," she said.

"There is so much more to it than the outdated job description. We become a safe place for the child, an extension of their family.

"We can tell what is going on because we are who is with them so much of the day."

She said the "powers that be" don't realise that they go "above and beyond".

What are the proposed changes to SEN?

The EA said the Enhanced Support Model for SEN in Northern Ireland will be introduced gradually over several years, starting later this year.

Key features include:

  • Needs-focused approach: SEN statements will specify functional needs and required specialist actions.
  • School-led delivery: Schools will decide how to provide support, guided by standards monitored by the Education Authority (EA).
  • Capability-building: Staff will prioritise developing pupils' skills and independence.

In a statement, the EA said it is reviewing CAs' job descriptions, contracts and other "employment-related matters", such as qualifications and professional development.

It added that the review is intended to "strengthen workforce stability, enhance recruitment and retention, and ultimately deliver improved outcomes for staff and children and young people".