www.unison.org.uk/education/schools

UNISON is Britain's biggest trade union with over 1.3 million members. Our members are people working in the public services. They include frontline staff and managers working full or part time in local authorities, the NHS, the police service, colleges and schools and the voluntary sector.

UNISON is also the largest trade union for staff in schools and local authority education departments. Our members include teaching assistants, nursery staff, administrators, secretaries, policy officers, technicians, cleaners, caretakers, school meals workers - in fact anyone working in schools or supporting education.

UNISON is campaigning to make sure the vital contribution these staff make to schools and education is recognised and rewarded by calling for:

• Better pay and conditions

• Improved career structures

• Access to training and development

• Fair treatment for term-time, part-time and temporary staff

• High quality, well-resourced education services accountable to the local community

The National Agreement for School Staff

A package of reforms to remodel the school workforce has been agreed by the government and most education unions in England and Wales. The agreement will mean more support staff in extended roles inside and outside the classroom.

UNISON welcomes the agreement because it means that:

• The work of support staff is recognised as important in its own right

• It opens the opportunity for career development

• It offers the opportunity for better pay and more secure contracts

• It emphasises the importance of training

UNISON General secretary Dave Prentis emphasised that clear national and local agreements on pay, grading and career structures are needed. A framework for this will be negotiated with the national employers. We will be seeking safeguards in order to prevent employers to use Teaching Assistants as “cheap” substitutes for teachers. Therefore a protocol on cover is particularly important. This agreement “is not about ‘teaching on the cheap’. It is not about cutting the number of teachers, but about increasing the number of adults employed in schools.”

“Support staff will work with teachers as part of a team, but teaching remains the responsibility of qualified teachers. This agreement also opens up opportunities for administrative, technical and other specialist staff.”

There is no doubt this is a time of opportunity for support staff. But it could also throw up problems if the Agreement is not applied properly. If this happens, you will need a trade union to give you expert advice and, if necessary, defend your interests in any dispute.

UNISON wants this Agreement to work in your favour. We have negotiated the best terms and we now have to ensure that the Agreement is implemented correctly. We can only ensure that this happens if we have a strong union on the ground, with members in every school.

If you are not already a member of UNISON, why not join now and make sure your voice is heard during this ground-breaking reorganisation of school work.

To join UNISON call UNISONdirect on 0845 355 0845 (Mon – Fri 6am to midnight and Saturday 9am to 4pm).

Help us help you make it work!

To find out more about UNISON and the work that it is doing to support school support staff visit our website at www.unison.org.uk/education/schools

www.unison.org.uk/education/schools