Education research group joins call to count TA vacancies

A prestigious education research group has joined GMB’s demand for teaching assistant vacancies to be monitored amid an ‘acute’ shortage.

The report by the National Foundation for Educational Research into special schools this week made the call because of the ‘criticality of teaching assistants to special schools’.

GMB has long-campaigned for school support staff vacancies to be recorded by the ONS - in the same way teaching vacancies are.

School support staff are paid an average of just £20,600 per year – less than care and leisure workers – and the report says ‘evidence suggests teaching assistant shortages are acute’

But the only way to find out the vacancy rate is to submit a Freedom of Information request to every school and academy in the country.

GMB has previously written to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson calling for support staff vacancies to be recorded – the Department for Education is now looking into the matter.

Stacey Booth, GMB National Officer, said:

“It’s an absolute scandal the vacancy rates of school support staff is not recorded.

“GMB research last year – which had to be done using FOI requests – showed one in five vacancies.

“This forgotten army of education professionals do an incredibly job but are paid woefully; it’s no wonder there is an acute crisis.

“But until we know the full scale of the problem, how can we do anything about it?”

ENDS

Media enquiries: GMB Press Office on 07958 156846 or at press.office@gmb.org.uk