This is why 100s of angry teachers will be marching through Blackpool town centre today
“School support staff are the people who keep our schools running.”
Hundreds of school workers are expected to march through Blackpool town centre today in protest at what unions have described as a Government “betrayal” of plans to improve pay and conditions for support staff.
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The demonstration, organised by the GMB union, will see members assemble outside the Winter Gardens from 3.30pm before marching to Blackpool Tower.
Those taking part include teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors and other school support staff who play a key role in helping children learn and supporting the day-to-day running of schools.
‘We say: enough’
Kim Marshall, a teaching assistant taking part in the march, said: “School support staff are the people who keep our schools running. The teaching assistants supporting children with special educational needs, pastoral workers helping children through family breakdown, bereavement and mental health crises.
“They are often the first person a frightened child speaks to and the last person a vulnerable child sees before going home. Yet year after year they have been overlooked. Told there is no money.
“Watched others receive recognition while they are expected to simply carry on. We say: enough.”
Widespread anger
The protest centres on concerns over the future of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, a long-promised national body intended to improve standards, training, pay and working conditions for school support staff across England.
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Union representatives claim the proposals have been significantly watered down by the Government, prompting anger among workers who had hoped the body would deliver meaningful improvements to their profession.
School support staff make up a substantial part of the education workforce and are often responsible for providing one-to-one support for pupils, assisting teachers in the classroom and supervising children during breaks and lunchtime periods.
A delegation of hundreds of union members is expected to take part in the march, with organisers hoping the demonstration will highlight the importance of support staff and increase pressure on ministers to strengthen the negotiating body's powers.