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A Resource for Teaching Assistants and School Support Staff.

Working in a Cambridgeshire School?  Then Unison Cambridgeshire is the union for you.  Whatever your role, we will be able to offer support, guidance and representation.  

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We know your issues

Teaching Assistants and School Support Staff are often at the forefront of cuts.  It always appears that support staff are the first to 'bear the brunt' of savings, the lowest paid and often the quietest, Unison Cambridgeshire will support you and make sure you get a fair chance.  Give us a call on restructure/reorganisations on 01223 699258

 

Teaching Assistants are often asked to support classes.  This is an acceptable request, but only if you are employed as a L3 TA and,have received the necessary training to carry out the task you are being asked to do. 

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Unison have produced a short but informative guide on Teaching Assistant responsibilities.  The document entitled, Cover Supervision:  Guidance on when and how it should be used  is a useful document to refer to if you are being asked to work outside of your grade.

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Teaching Assistants are covered by a set of National Occupational Standards.  These standards became necessary to define the role of Teaching assistants, as this group of workers are being continually asked to carry out an increasingly amount of diverse and complex tasks.  There are 69 standards, and these apply to you if you are providing direct support for teaching and learning, in any type of school, primary, secondary or special. ​​

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To ensure comprehensive support for schools, the Training and Development Agency (TDA) also worked closely with those sector bodies responsible for national occupational standards for support staff not solely involved in teaching and learning – such as technicians, catering staff, premises staff and administrative staff.  See also www.tda.gov.uk/support-staff/developingprogressing/nos/other.aspx#

 

With all these Standards and guidance that is available, you would think that the Teaching Assistant's role couldn't be abused, but you would be wrong.  Teaching on the cheap  A Unison report from April 2024, shows that Teaching Assistant's continue to used for cover purposes, when they have no experience.  &5% reported that their position, isn't back filled when they provide cover elsewhere. 

 

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NEWS! The SSSNB, School Support Staff Negotiating Board, is set to commence in late 2025.  This 'new' body will determine all of you terms and conditions.  To find out more, click the information button at the SSSNB article on this page. â€‹

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Unison Cambridgeshire in Schools

Unless Unison has a rep in your school, the Branch needs members to let us know what is happening.  Since the break up of the Local Authority maintained educational system, to the academy model, it is challenging to keep informed about each Academy, and importantly, what they are doing with support staff. 

The Branch attends several academies Joint Negotiating and Consultation Group; JCNG meetings.  This is a body of trade unions, including teachers unions and the 3 support staff unions of Unison, GMB and Unite.  The trade unions raise issues at these meetings, which members have raised with us, or when we have noticed trends in specific areas.

The rising incidences of violence is one issue that Unison raises on a regular basis, as is the increasing pressure being placed on Teaching Assistants to cover a class when the teacher is absent.  The Unison guidance Cover Supervision; Guidance on when and how it should be used are helpful pages when you are in this position.  Please contact the Branch should your employer continue to abuse this situation.

If you want Unison to raise an issue, contact the Branch via phone or email, please see our Contact the Branch page.

Recent Activity in Schools

ASTREA  In the Autumn of 2023, the Branch became aware that Astrea Academy had introduced a new set of terms and conditions for Teaching Assistants.  These T's&C's had been discussed many months ago, at Astrea's JCNG meetings held in Sheffield.  At the time, our Unison colleagues in Yorkshire had sought and received confirmation that these new terms would not be implemented without first consulting and getting agreement.

Despite these assurances, Astrea implemented the new terms in Cambridgeshire without giving any notice.  The Branch was made aware by one of our members, and we immediately raised this with our colleagues in Yorkshire.  So began what turned out to be a 10 month Unison dispute with Astrea.  That dispute was finally ended at the beginning of September 2024.  More on this can be seen on the Branch News Page and by visiting the Eastern Region's website.  Contact the Branch for more information.

The Latest News 

School Support Staff Survey:  Unison's survey closed on Friday 25th October.  The survey covered pay, workload and violence in schools, but you could also have raised any issue that you feel Unison should be aware of.    Check back to see the results of the survey when Unison publish the report in the coming months. 

The Covid Enquiry: share your story.  Trades Union Congress (TUC) are conducting a survey to capture the experiences of working people during the Covid-19 pandemic to feed into future modules of the Covid-19 Inquiry.  It's crucial that the experiences of schools staff are included, so please complete and encourage your colleagues to share their stories.  It should only take about 6 minutes.  

Food bank use in schools.   Unison has  been working with researchers at the University of Bristol to identify the impact of low pay on the lives of support staff in schools. Thank you to those who have already volunteered to be interviewed about your experiences of using food banks – we need just 6 more people. Anyone who has ever needed to use a food bank, or come close/gone without basic necessities because their pay just couldn’t quite stretch to pay day, should please consider putting their name forward to be interviewed. The final report will ensure that members cannot be identified.

No survey on this one, just get in touch by emailing education@unison.co.uk and marking FAO Leigh Powell.
 

Thank you to all who took part in The Department for Education Curriculum and assessment Review.  Your views have now been counted  and we await the DfE report.  It will consider children and young people’s education and experiences from ages 5 to 19. The DfE sought feedback on what currently works, what doesn’t and what potential improvements could be made to the system. The views of school support staff were welcomed as stated by Becky Francis, chair of the independent review. The call for evidence closed on 22 November 2024.  Once published, the report will be available HERE.  So keep checking back.

Courses available.  UNISON College are also running the following courses this term which may be of particular interest to members working in schools:
•    Bereavement in Children and Young People  4 March 2025, 4pm – 6.30pm
This workshop is repeated on 30 April, 11 June and 3 July, keep checking the course listing page for registration information.
•    Conflict management for school support staff  12 March 2025, 4pm – 7.00pm   

Look on the Activist Training & Member Learning Section on the Front Page for more courses, or the link above.

 Cambridgeshire Schools Newsletters   

Working in schools, then this CCC Newsletter is an important read.  It contains a vast amount of information from Reporting aggression and violence at work to available training and events and much in between.

The Newsletters are produced every 2 weeks, so please do check back to read the latest update.   The Newsletters are accessible by the buttons below

School Support Staff Negotiation Board

Or as you may see it SSSNB.  The SSSNB is the biggest shake up for School Support Staff in many years.  As it is so important, your Branch has decided to dedicate a page to the SSSNB, informing you on ways in which it will influence your pay, terms and conditions, how can get involved, and progress as the new board is shaped by Government and the Trade Unions.  

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