Some school support staff got pay rises up to five times lower than their peers last year because their employers ditched national pay agreements.
Schools Week has learnt that Buckinghamshire County Council offered support staff a 2 per cent rise last year, despite the national pay deal in which most local authorities offered a £1,925 hike.
That increase, which many academy trusts also honoured, marked the highest rise in a decade – worth 10.5 per cent for the lowest earners and 4 per cent for higher earners.
One higher-level teaching assistant in Buckinghamshire said 2 per cent fell “way short” of his rising bills, diesel and food costs. It marked “another pay cut that will drive people out of educational support roles”.
