Teaching assistants are taking second jobs or leaving education to work in better-paid roles amid cost-of-living pressures, a report suggests.
Around three in four senior leaders reported that some teaching assistants (TAs) in their schools have taken up additional employment to supplement their income, according to a survey.
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report – which reached out to senior leaders in schools – suggests that some TAs have left schools in favour of better-paid roles in sectors such as hospitality and retail.
The report says cost-saving measures by schools in response to cost-of-living increases have “intensified” pressures on staff and made retention harder.
Cost-of-living increases have “compounded pressures” on school budgets, limiting the salaries schools are able to offer potential TAs and other support staff, it adds.
Nearly half (45%) of senior leaders in secondary schools, and more than a third (34%) of leaders in primary schools, said low salaries were the single biggest barrier to recruiting TAs.
The survey, of 1,354 senior leaders in mainstream primary and secondary schools in England in April and May, found that the majority are struggling to recruit TAs and other support staff.
