School support staff pay rise

School support staff in England have been offered a pay rise of 3.2 per cent.

Pay for council-employed school support staff is negotiated between local authorities  and unions. The resulting rises apply to LA-maintained schools, but many academy trusts also mirror the deals reached.

This would mean the pay of the lowest-paid workers, those earning £23,656, has risen by more than £6,000, or 33 per cent, since April 2021. The rise is higher, than what is proposed for teachers, in its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body last year, the Department for Education said a 2.8 per cent pay rise “would be appropriate” for 2025-26.

The government has said it expects extra funding of £1.3 billion allocated last year to cover some of next year’s pay rises, with the rest coming from “efficiencies”.