Hard-pressed school staff worried they can’t afford presents and festive food

22 December 2023 , 15:00

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The majority of workers were worried about being able to afford Christmas presents (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Hard-pressed school support staff are worried they can’t afford presents and festive food this Christmas, research shows today.

A survey of more than 4,000 support staff such as teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors and nursery nurses found 41% fear they can’t pay for their Christmas groceries as cost of living pressures bite.

The majority of workers were worried about being able to afford Christmas presents, with 60% saying they are concerned about buying gifts for their families. And 25% were worried about paying for Christmas dinner, the poll by the GMB union found.

It comes after warnings from heads that teaching assistants are quitting in favour of better paid jobs in hospitality and retail. The National Foundation for Educational Research has warned some support staff are being forced to take on extra jobs to make ends meet - or are abandoning education for other sectors.

It warned that cost-cutting by schools in response to cost of living pressures have put a squeeze on salaries and made it harder to retain staff. Teaching unions have repeatedly warned that staff are spending increasing amounts of time dealing with the impact of child poverty, such as feeding hungry kids and sourcing uniforms and supplies.

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Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, told the Mirror: “School support staff feed our children at school, keep them safe, look after them when they bump their heads or graze their knees. Yet they are so poorly paid, more than half of them are worried about affording presents for their own families.

“It’s a national disgrace. Ministers have victimised support staff, scrapped their national negotiating body, and now they are limiting their right to strike. It's time that this hidden army of education professionals is paid the fair rates that our members deserve.”

:: The survey of 4,019 school support staff took place between December 13 and 20

Lizzy Buchan