Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review whether the pay of teaching assistants adequately reflects the responsibilities, qualifications and duties of the role, including teaching classes and supporting pupils with complex needs.

School support staff, including teaching assistants, play a vital role in children’s education, and that is why this government is establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

The SSSNB will be a new statutory body specifically for school support staff. Its purpose is to bring employers and employee representatives together to negotiate minimum standards for pay and conditions for school support staff in all state-funded schools in England. It will also advise on training and career progression for school support staff. The SSSNB is expected to be established in autumn 2026.

The initial focus of the SSSNB will be on establishing new minimum levels for terms and conditions with incremental changes to contracts that lead to cumulative improvements in support staff terms and conditions each year.