Support staff struggling to maintain standards for pupils because of cuts, says UNISON report

UNISON Scotland publishes major report on school support staff:

This is one of the biggest surveys of school support staff undertaken for years. It paints a bleak picture of school support staff under pressure, struggling to provide high standards to pupils in Scotland. Support staff report heavier workloads, jobs cuts, lack of educational supplies, and dirtier schools. There are 1841 less support staff, 1389 fewer teachers, 6707 more pupils than in 2010. Support staff are working through breaks and unpaid overtime. Clubs and libraries are closing down. Science technician’s jobs are being cuts.

Carol Ball, chair of UNISON education committee said, ‘Cutting hours and not replacing staff means job losses are less likely to get noticed outside school. But these cuts still damage our children’s education inside school. Staff try to maintain a high quality service to give children the best start in life.  But this is enormously difficult when schools are short of supplies and staff workloads continue to increase; and libraries, sports lunch and afterschool clubs and music tuition have been cut. And this hurts the poorest kids the most’

#HardLessons

More information on UNISON Scotland website.