School support staff are dipping into their own pockets to help pay for food, stationery and uniforms for needy pupils, while skipping meals and taking on multiple jobs to pay their own bills, a union survey has found.
The poll by Unison revealed that teaching assistants (TA), catering and cleaning workers, librarians and sports coaches, who are among the lowest-paid workers in the sector, are struggling to pay their own bills, but still stepping up to support pupils.
Nearly all the 6,700 respondents (98%) to the UK-wide survey said they were worried their pay would not cover spiralling living costs, yet more than a third (35%) said they had helped pay for food or packed lunches for pupils.
