UNISON opinion: Make sure that you use your vote this Thursday

By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea

Up for election in England and Wales this Thursday are 41 police and crime commissioners, thousands of councillors, 10 metro mayors and all 25 London Assembly members.

This election is about putting your trust in the right people to deliver local services in your town or city, and about who you want to be responsible for your local police force. It’s also the last set of local results we will get before the general election.

The prime minister is still refusing to announce the date of that election. It’s most likely he hasn’t even decided yet – just loitering around, waiting to see if he needs to call it quickly before being ousted by his party.

But when it comes to this Thursday, I hope voters will remember that Conservative politicians have been responsible for huge funding cuts to policing and thousands of vacant roles as police forces withhold over 4,000 posts to manage budget deficits.

That includes our members working as police support staff – investigators, custody and detention officers, 999 call-takers, scene of crime officers, are just a few of the vital roles they do. Neighbourhood policing is suffering too and today we all feel much less safe.

UNISON’s own research shows that forces in England and Wales could face a combined budget shortfall of £720m by 2026, putting public safety at grave risk. The result of political choices from the Westminster government.

When you vote for your councillors and mayor, or your London Assembly member, you are choosing what you want for the places where you live and work. The people you vote in could have an impact on regional inequality, growth and prosperity, safe communities, affordable housing, accessible public transport and clean air.

The services you and your family rely on every day, can only continue with politicians who believe in investing in them. After 14 years of cuts by the Conservative government, I know I can only trust Labour with our essential services and that’s the party that will get my vote this week.

This Thursday, make sure you head to the polls and choose who you can trust to put you and your family first. And don’t forget to bring your photo ID to the polling station.

The article UNISON opinion: Make sure that you use your vote this Thursday first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON opinion: Make sure that you use your vote this Thursday

By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea

Up for election in England and Wales this Thursday are 41 police and crime commissioners, thousands of councillors, 10 metro mayors and all 25 London Assembly members.

This election is about putting your trust in the right people to deliver local services in your town or city, and about who you want to be responsible for your local police force. It’s also the last set of local results we will get before the general election.

The prime minister is still refusing to announce the date of that election. It’s most likely he hasn’t even decided yet – just loitering around, waiting to see if he needs to call it quickly before being ousted by his party.

But when it comes to this Thursday, I hope voters will remember that Conservative politicians have been responsible for huge funding cuts to policing and thousands of vacant roles as police forces withhold over 4,000 posts to manage budget deficits.

That includes our members working as police support staff – investigators, custody and detention officers, 999 call-takers, scene of crime officers, are just a few of the vital roles they do. Neighbourhood policing is suffering too and today we all feel much less safe.

UNISON’s own research shows that forces in England and Wales could face a combined budget shortfall of £720m by 2026, putting public safety at grave risk. The result of political choices from the Westminster government.

When you vote for your councillors and mayor, or your London Assembly member, you are choosing what you want for the places where you live and work. The people you vote in could have an impact on regional inequality, growth and prosperity, safe communities, affordable housing, accessible public transport and clean air.

The services you and your family rely on every day, can only continue with politicians who believe in investing in them. After 14 years of cuts by the Conservative government, I know I can only trust Labour with our essential services and that’s the party that will get my vote this week.

This Thursday, make sure you head to the polls and choose who you can trust to put you and your family first. And don’t forget to bring your photo ID to the polling station.

The article UNISON opinion: Make sure that you use your vote this Thursday first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Stop violence at work: Please take the campaign survey

UNISON is calling on members to participate in a survey about violence at work.

Your input is invaluable in helping the union understand the prevalence and nature of workplace violence and harassment. By completing this survey, you contribute to shaping UNISON campaigns and initiatives that will support members working in public services.

By sharing your experiences, you will shed light on this serious issue. Your voice helps the union to understand the scope of the problem, which then helps guide campaigning and organising approaches to tackling it.

It will only take a few minutes of your time, and responses will be kept confidential and anonymised.

You can complete the survey here.

Find out more and read the UNISON charter to end violence at work

The article Stop violence at work: Please take the campaign survey first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Stop violence at work: Please take the campaign survey

UNISON is calling on members to participate in a survey about violence at work.

Your input is invaluable in helping the union understand the prevalence and nature of workplace violence and harassment. By completing this survey, you contribute to shaping UNISON campaigns and initiatives that will support members working in public services.

By sharing your experiences, you will shed light on this serious issue. Your voice helps the union to understand the scope of the problem, which then helps guide campaigning and organising approaches to tackling it.

It will only take a few minutes of your time, and responses will be kept confidential and anonymised.

You can complete the survey here.

Find out more and read the UNISON charter to end violence at work

The article Stop violence at work: Please take the campaign survey first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers

Pupils are missing out on essential support as teaching assistants increasingly provide cover for absent teachers, without lesson plans or help from other colleagues, according to a report released by UNISON today (Saturday).

The report Teaching on the Cheap? is based on survey responses from almost 6,000 teaching assistants covering classes in England and Wales. It suggests ongoing teacher shortages mean support staff are increasingly having to lead lessons and manage whole classes by themselves.

The research finds 45% say they are covering more classes now than they were the previous school year (2022/2023).

The report, commissioned by UNISON and written by researcher Rob Webster, found three quarters of survey respondents (75%) say looking after an entire class means they end up teaching rather than supervising pupils.

This is despite national guidance stating school support staff should not ‘actively teach’ any classes they cover, says the research. This will also come as a surprise to many parents, says UNISON, who will assume their children are being taught in the classroom by teachers.

UNISON says too many low-paid teaching assistants end up performing roles for which they are neither trained nor paid. This results in pupils being taught on the cheap, as three quarters (75%) of support staff say they receive no additional money for stepping up.

According to the findings, almost two in five (39%) report covering classes for at least five hours per week. That, says the research, is equivalent to roughly one school day a week, or half a term’s cover over a school year. Additionally, another 15% say they lead full classes for at least 11 hours a week.

Half (51%) of the teaching assistants in both secondary and special schools have been deployed to cover classes because their schools don’t have enough teachers. In primary schools, this was the case for almost a quarter (24%) of support staff.

But providing cover for teaching colleagues means teaching assistants’ normal tasks are not being done. Three quarters (74%) say this is the case and leaves the pupils they support without any assistance.

In primary schools, almost half the teaching assistants (49%) say they rarely or never have support to help them cover classes, even though teachers would usually have an assistant on hand in the classroom.

And only half (51%) of the support staff who cover classes are provided with lesson plans. Eight in ten (81%) teaching assistants believe their deployment to cover classes is having a negative impact on the quality of special educational needs provision in their schools.

Six in ten (63%) of those based in primary schools say pupils are missing out on critical catch-up sessions, as well as on literacy and numeracy support.

Assistants describe regularly being told to lead classes ranging from nursery to year 6, with just minutes to spare.

Those working in secondary schools report planning and teaching subjects at GCSE level where teachers have left and not been replaced. Many feel they are used as cheap substitutes for teachers and are unable to give pupils the quality lessons they need.

Adding such intense duties and responsibilities to their workloads is pushing many to think about leaving education for jobs elsewhere, warns UNISON.

The union is calling for a review of the role of teaching assistants as they’re now providing cover in circumstances way beyond what has been nationally agreed. Their skills must also be better recognised and their pay negotiated by a new, independent body, it adds.

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “The strain imposed on teaching assistants is both unacceptable and exploitative. When they’re leading full classes, teaching assistants are being diverted from what they do best and pupils who need additional support are missing out.

“Schools’ budgets are so tight that, instead of getting in supply teachers to cover classes, heads are having to use teaching assistants on the cheap. Ministers are entirely responsible for the funding crisis that’s putting schools in this impossible position.

“Many children can’t grasp the basics without the critical assistance of teaching assistants. Redeploying them to other roles is unfair on everyone. Parents will rightly assume their children are being taught by teachers, not teaching assistants.

“The government must ensure all schools have the budget and staff to provide the education they’re meant to deliver. This over-reliance on unsatisfactory stopgap measures and overburdening teaching assistants in this way has to stop.”

Researcher and expert on teaching assistants Rob Webster said: “This study reveals the hidden costs of deploying teaching assistants to plug gaps in the teacher workforce.

“It disrupts support for pupils who need it, and prevents teaching assistants from doing their essential work.

“The special educational needs system in England is already at breaking point. Parents of children with additional needs will wonder what effect this considerable loss of teaching assistant capacity is having on their child’s provision.

“The current situation is having a detrimental effect on teaching assistants’ workload and wellbeing too. Left unaddressed, it could exacerbate the existing recruitment and retention crisis facing schools.”

Notes to editors:
– Teaching on the Cheap?  is based on the survey responses of 5,989 teaching assistants in England and Wales located in primary/infant (84%), secondary (5%) and special schools (11%). The survey was conducted online between January and February 2024.
– An executive summary of the findings is available here.

– Quotes from the report include:
“My role has become increasingly one of cover for absent teachers in my department. Last year about 50% of my time was spent doing this.” Secondary higher level teaching assistant 

“It is an expectation. If a teacher is off and has provided work, the teaching assistants are expected to teach the lesson.” Special school support assistant

“I’m told I have to plan and deliver a lesson every Monday as our class teacher does not work on this day. I am given no time to plan lessons, nor am I confident in doing this as I’ve not been trained. But I was told it’s in my contract.” Special school teaching assistant

“I’m having to cover an average of 3 to 4.5 days a week on a regular basis. This is partly because of the lack of funds to employ the extra staff needed or a supply.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“I have led reception class every afternoon since November. The head implied that another member of staff would be taken on, but they haven’t been.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“My school has used agency teachers to fill vacancies. The agency teacher in my class left so I was asked to step up and teach my class until a new teacher can be recruited. I am teaching my class on a full-term basis for the foreseeable future.” Special school teaching assistant

“I have been given a teaching timetable. Some was to cover maternity leave, some to fill a gap where a teacher had left and no one had been recruited to fill the space.” Secondary cover supervisor

“My school cannot afford supply teachers, so more teaching assistants than ever before are having to step in for teaching colleagues.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“Teaching assistants should not be used to cover teachers’ lessons. We are not qualified teachers and the students deserve a good quality education. This can’t happen if lessons are being covered by support staff.” Special school teaching assistant

“I don’t think parents have any idea about how much of their children’s education is being delivered by unqualified teaching assistants.” Primary/infant higher level teaching assistant

“I only get 20p per hour more than my basic teaching assistant pay for covering lessons. I receive a total of 74p extra for covering a whole afternoon. The additional payment for this morning is approximately £2.50 net. Supply staff would have been paid £150 for the same work.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“A supply teacher would get sometimes in excess of £100 per day, whereas we get barely £1 an hour extra. For about 30 hours of cover a month, I earned about £40 more. It doesn’t seem fair.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers

Pupils are missing out on essential support as teaching assistants increasingly provide cover for absent teachers, without lesson plans or help from other colleagues, according to a report released by UNISON today (Saturday).

The report Teaching on the Cheap? is based on survey responses from almost 6,000 teaching assistants covering classes in England and Wales. It suggests ongoing teacher shortages mean support staff are increasingly having to lead lessons and manage whole classes by themselves.

The research finds 45% say they are covering more classes now than they were the previous school year (2022/2023).

The report, commissioned by UNISON and written by researcher Rob Webster, found three quarters of survey respondents (75%) say looking after an entire class means they end up teaching rather than supervising pupils.

This is despite national guidance stating school support staff should not ‘actively teach’ any classes they cover, says the research. This will also come as a surprise to many parents, says UNISON, who will assume their children are being taught in the classroom by teachers.

UNISON says too many low-paid teaching assistants end up performing roles for which they are neither trained nor paid. This results in pupils being taught on the cheap, as three quarters (75%) of support staff say they receive no additional money for stepping up.

According to the findings, almost two in five (39%) report covering classes for at least five hours per week. That, says the research, is equivalent to roughly one school day a week, or half a term’s cover over a school year. Additionally, another 15% say they lead full classes for at least 11 hours a week.

Half (51%) of the teaching assistants in both secondary and special schools have been deployed to cover classes because their schools don’t have enough teachers. In primary schools, this was the case for almost a quarter (24%) of support staff.

But providing cover for teaching colleagues means teaching assistants’ normal tasks are not being done. Three quarters (74%) say this is the case and leaves the pupils they support without any assistance.

In primary schools, almost half the teaching assistants (49%) say they rarely or never have support to help them cover classes, even though teachers would usually have an assistant on hand in the classroom.

And only half (51%) of the support staff who cover classes are provided with lesson plans. Eight in ten (81%) teaching assistants believe their deployment to cover classes is having a negative impact on the quality of special educational needs provision in their schools.

Six in ten (63%) of those based in primary schools say pupils are missing out on critical catch-up sessions, as well as on literacy and numeracy support.

Assistants describe regularly being told to lead classes ranging from nursery to year 6, with just minutes to spare.

Those working in secondary schools report planning and teaching subjects at GCSE level where teachers have left and not been replaced. Many feel they are used as cheap substitutes for teachers and are unable to give pupils the quality lessons they need.

Adding such intense duties and responsibilities to their workloads is pushing many to think about leaving education for jobs elsewhere, warns UNISON.

The union is calling for a review of the role of teaching assistants as they’re now providing cover in circumstances way beyond what has been nationally agreed. Their skills must also be better recognised and their pay negotiated by a new, independent body, it adds.

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “The strain imposed on teaching assistants is both unacceptable and exploitative. When they’re leading full classes, teaching assistants are being diverted from what they do best and pupils who need additional support are missing out.

“Schools’ budgets are so tight that, instead of getting in supply teachers to cover classes, heads are having to use teaching assistants on the cheap. Ministers are entirely responsible for the funding crisis that’s putting schools in this impossible position.

“Many children can’t grasp the basics without the critical assistance of teaching assistants. Redeploying them to other roles is unfair on everyone. Parents will rightly assume their children are being taught by teachers, not teaching assistants.

“The government must ensure all schools have the budget and staff to provide the education they’re meant to deliver. This over-reliance on unsatisfactory stopgap measures and overburdening teaching assistants in this way has to stop.”

Researcher and expert on teaching assistants Rob Webster said: “This study reveals the hidden costs of deploying teaching assistants to plug gaps in the teacher workforce.

“It disrupts support for pupils who need it, and prevents teaching assistants from doing their essential work.

“The special educational needs system in England is already at breaking point. Parents of children with additional needs will wonder what effect this considerable loss of teaching assistant capacity is having on their child’s provision.

“The current situation is having a detrimental effect on teaching assistants’ workload and wellbeing too. Left unaddressed, it could exacerbate the existing recruitment and retention crisis facing schools.”

Notes to editors:
– Teaching on the Cheap?  is based on the survey responses of 5,989 teaching assistants in England and Wales located in primary/infant (84%), secondary (5%) and special schools (11%). The survey was conducted online between January and February 2024.
– An executive summary of the findings is available here.

– Quotes from the report include:
“My role has become increasingly one of cover for absent teachers in my department. Last year about 50% of my time was spent doing this.” Secondary higher level teaching assistant 

“It is an expectation. If a teacher is off and has provided work, the teaching assistants are expected to teach the lesson.” Special school support assistant

“I’m told I have to plan and deliver a lesson every Monday as our class teacher does not work on this day. I am given no time to plan lessons, nor am I confident in doing this as I’ve not been trained. But I was told it’s in my contract.” Special school teaching assistant

“I’m having to cover an average of 3 to 4.5 days a week on a regular basis. This is partly because of the lack of funds to employ the extra staff needed or a supply.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“I have led reception class every afternoon since November. The head implied that another member of staff would be taken on, but they haven’t been.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“My school has used agency teachers to fill vacancies. The agency teacher in my class left so I was asked to step up and teach my class until a new teacher can be recruited. I am teaching my class on a full-term basis for the foreseeable future.” Special school teaching assistant

“I have been given a teaching timetable. Some was to cover maternity leave, some to fill a gap where a teacher had left and no one had been recruited to fill the space.” Secondary cover supervisor

“My school cannot afford supply teachers, so more teaching assistants than ever before are having to step in for teaching colleagues.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“Teaching assistants should not be used to cover teachers’ lessons. We are not qualified teachers and the students deserve a good quality education. This can’t happen if lessons are being covered by support staff.” Special school teaching assistant

“I don’t think parents have any idea about how much of their children’s education is being delivered by unqualified teaching assistants.” Primary/infant higher level teaching assistant

“I only get 20p per hour more than my basic teaching assistant pay for covering lessons. I receive a total of 74p extra for covering a whole afternoon. The additional payment for this morning is approximately £2.50 net. Supply staff would have been paid £150 for the same work.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“A supply teacher would get sometimes in excess of £100 per day, whereas we get barely £1 an hour extra. For about 30 hours of cover a month, I earned about £40 more. It doesn’t seem fair.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government’s failure to implement Windrush decisions is unlawful

The government’s decision to scrap recommendations made by an independent review into the Windrush scandal was unlawful, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

Over the next two days at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, the union will be putting forward legal arguments to support the case brought by Windrush scandal victim Trevor Donald.

Mr Donald is challenging the decision taken in early 2023 by the then home secretary Suella Braverman to scrap three of the recommendations hailing from the Windrush Learned Lessons Review.

When Wendy Williams first published her independent review into the government’s treatment of the Windrush generation in 2020, Priti Patel, who was home secretary at the time, had accepted all 30 of them.

Back in December 2023, Mr Donald was granted permission to seek a judicial review of Suella Braverman’s actions. At the same time UNISON and the Black Equity Organisation were also given the go-ahead to join his case.

All parties are arguing that the Home Office acted unlawfully when it ditched the three recommendations.

These covered a commitment to establish a migrants commissioner, a strengthening of the powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, and the holding of reconciliation events for affected individuals and their families.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “People who had come to Britain to live and work legally – many of them in the UK’s key public services –found themselves stripped of their rights, with their lives in ruins.

“The public was horrified at the hostile environment being whipped up by the government and appalled at the vile treatment of so many ordinary working people, too many of whom had already faced racism throughout their lives.

“The Learned Lessons Review was an attempt to put right the damage. All its recommendations had been accepted, but then Suella Braverman came along and threw a wrecking ball into the proceedings.

“This judicial review will hopefully right those wrongs and win for the many people in the Windrush generation who’ve been treated so very badly by the government.”

The 2018 Windrush scandal revealed that numerous individuals who’d come to Britain from the Caribbean had been treated appallingly. They’d been wrongly detained, threatened with deportation or kicked out of the country entirely. People affected lost their homes, their jobs, contact with their families and were denied access to health services and benefits.

Notes to editors:
– The claimant in the judicial review, Trevor Donald, arrived in the UK in 1967, aged 12, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 1971. But when he visited Jamaica in 2010 to attend his mother’s funeral, he was prevented from returning to the UK and exiled for nine years before the scandal finally came to light.
– UNISON’s application to the High Court was supported by evidence from UNISON member Michael Braithwaite, a London teaching assistant, who works in particular with children with special educational needs. Michael lost his job due to the Windrush scandal, which he called “a total nightmare that destroyed my life.” 

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contact:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Government’s failure to implement Windrush decisions is unlawful first appeared on the UNISON National site.