Petition · past parliament

Pay school support staff the whole time contracts that they so rightly deserve.

Closed 18,483 signatures

What the petition asks

Throughout the country, County by county, school support staff have been forced in to term time only contracts that have drastically cut their pay. This has forced many highly-skilled people out of the profession that had changed so dramatically in the last 5 years. The unsung heroes in education.
School support staff have become extremely dynamic due to massive pressure upon teaching staff. At a wage already half that of teaching staff, support staff roles are extremely specialised with unbelievable experience in very specific learning/behavioural difficulties. These staff are completely devalued by a devastating cut to their wages that undervalues the extraordinary lengths these staff go to to provide outstanding support for our children and young people.

Government response · 10 March 2016

School support staff can contribute positively to pupils achieving their full potential. The Government believes decisions on support staff should be made by heads and teachers to reflect local needs.

The Government believes that, when effectively deployed, school support staff can make a valuable contribution to children’s education, and help them to achieve their full potential. We’ve given schools more control over their budgets and it is important that schools have the freedom to decide how to recruit, manage and deploy any support staff in a way that best meets the needs of their schools and pupils. Government policy is that schools are best placed to decide how they use and deploy their support staff in ways that best meet the needs of their pupils and the school as a whole. Support staff terms and conditions are determined locally by employers, to suit local circumstances: in maintained schools, these will be set by the local authority; in Academies and Free Schools, these will be set by schools or the Trust.

Department for Education

Timeline

25 Nov 2015 Petition opened for signatures
8 Feb 2016 Passed 10,000 signatures, requiring a government response
10 Mar 2016 Government responded
25 May 2016 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 18,483
Status Closed
Opened 25 Nov 2015
Closed 25 May 2016
Response 10 Mar 2016

Follow this petition

Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.

Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.