"Since the cost of living has increased we have lost teaching assistants to work in supermarkets, fast food restaurants, hotels and other such roles.”
A mainstream school teacher
Schools say that low salaries due to the cost of living crisis squeezing already stretched school budgets are driving teaching assistants away.
The findings have come from the third in a trilogy of studies about the impact of the cost of living crisis in education – this one looking at the impact on school staff (Lucas et al, 2023).
It finds that 82% of senior leaders in special schools, 75% in primaries and 72% in secondaries say that some of their teaching assistants are taking up additional employment.
Average salaries for teaching assistants, according to the report, are just over £20,000 making them particularly vulnerable to the cost of living crisis.
The report states: “These findings highlight that cost-of-living pressures have led many teaching assistants to supplement their income via other sources and suggests that pay for teaching assistants should be revisited in light of these pressures.”
The report also says that 70% of schools report teaching assistants quitting their posts in order to find better paid employment in other sectors (88% of secondary schools and 71% of primaries). It finds that schools in the South of England are much more likely to report this problem.
The report states: “In their open responses, teachers and leaders highlighted that the impact of the increased cost of living on the personal finances was particularly acute for teaching assistants. As such some teaching assistants are leaving school in favour of job opportunities in other sectors (such as roles in hospitality and retail) that offer either increased pay or opportunities to work more hours. Leaders highlight that this only intensifies workload pressures on remaining staff.”
The study, published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), involved more than 2,700 senior leaders and teachers working in primary, secondary and special schools.
Comments from respondents in the study included:
- “Teaching assistant pay is appalling. We cannot offer salaries that are an incentive. The school budget cannot sustain the increase in costs without letting high-quality staff members leave.” (Mainstream senior leader)
- “Support staff are leaving in large numbers as they can earn significantly more in other settings. There are also fewer qualified staff available to fill these posts.” (Mainstream senior leader)
- “Support staff are leaving because they can get higher paid jobs in other sectors. Teaching assistant vacancies remain unfilled due to a lack of suitable applicants. Lack of teaching assistants impacts on teacher workload and wellbeing.” (Mainstream senior leader)
- “Teaching assistant recruitment is even worse. Since the cost of living has increased we have lost teaching assistants to work in supermarkets, fast food restaurants, hotels and other such roles.” (Mainstream teacher)
The overwhelming majority of schools say they are struggling to recruit teaching assistants (84% of primaries, 85% of secondaries, 87% of special schools) and other support staff (80% of primaries, 75% of secondaries, 90% of special schools).
Barriers to recruitment are cited as the low salaries on offer, although schools reported problems with a lack of qualified applicants and too few applicants as well.
As such, large numbers of teaching assistant and other support staff vacancies have remained vacant for more than two months, especially in special schools.
The report adds: “Around three-quarters of schools are unable to recruit teaching assistants with the specialist skills and expertise required to meet the needs of pupils.”
It continues: “A greater focus is needed across the sector on ensuring that teaching assistants and non-teaching support staff (such as school business managers) are attractive roles.
“Primary and special schools, in particular, are facing major challenges in recruiting support staff. Ensuring that schools have the financial headroom to offer competitive salaries, not only to teachers, but to teaching assistants and wider support staff, is a key part of the solution.”
The report recommends that the government prioritises its planned “refresh” of the teacher recruitment and retention strategy and extends its scope to include teaching assistants, school support staff and tutors.
The NFER’s research director and co-author of the study, Jenna Julius, said: “The cost-of-living pressures are intensifying existing recruitment and retention challenges. Staff and potential applicants are more likely to look for higher paying and less pressurised jobs outside the sector while budget pressures are limiting the salaries which schools can afford.
“A new long-term workforce strategy, including teaching assistants, school support staff and tutors, alongside teachers and leaders, is needed. For wider support staff, this should include looking at whether pay is competitive enough to attract and retain sufficient high-quality staff.”
This is the third of three reports being published by the NFER on the theme of cost of living. The first looked at the impact of the crisis on pupils and families (see our report here) while the second focused on the impact on school provision (see our report here). The studies have been conducted in collaboration with ASK Research and funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
- Lucas et al: Cost-of-living crisis: Impact on schools (school staff): https://tinyurl.com/uu7vrush