Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of school support staff in Aylesbury constituency.

The full-time equivalent (FTE) of support staff has increased since 2019/20, rising to 510,400 in 2023/24. This is an increase of 4,800 (0.9%) since last year. Support staff roles include teaching assistants, administrative staff, auxiliary staff, technicians and other supporting staff, plus two new posts of school business professional and leadership non-teacher, which were reported for the first time in 2023/24.

Data relating to the FTE of all support staff between 2019/20 and 2023/24 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b0a17e8-b3ff-403e-687f-08dca70c1109.

Data from the School Workforce census shows that, as of November 2019 in the Aylesbury constituency, there were 1360 FTE support staff reported from all 47 state-funded school data returns. In November 2023, there were 1430 FTE support staff in the Aylesbury constituency, when 46 schools returned data.

In a Department for Education survey in 2023 ('Use of teaching assistants in schools'), 75% of school leaders found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was less of a concern, but still difficult for 29% of leaders.

The department values and will recognise the professionalism of the entire school workforce by addressing recruitment and retention challenges through reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

The body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, including training and progression routes. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.