Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, responds to Labour’s announcement of their intention to reintroduce the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) should they be elected at the next general election.
“Support staff are a vital part of the education sector and do a fantastic job for children and young people in many capacities. Labour’s proposal doesn’t fully reflect the importance of these staff members as it maintains a divide between them and teachers. It would be a far better idea to bring all education workers into a single review body which is then able to make strategic decisions about pay and conditions across the whole workforce.
“If there are to be two separate bodies, the STRB needs to be expanded to cover academies as well as maintained schools and include school business leaders and all leadership roles up to and including that of the CEO. Business leaders play an integral part in the running of schools but there is a disparity in the level of pay and recognition in these roles. The interests of business leaders would surely be better served by having their pay and conditions determined by the same body as other school leaders.”