Progress on support staff pay and conditions

The work of the government's School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) will in time lead to significant changes in the pay and conditions of support staff in maintained schools in England, including ASCL's business manager and senior support staff members.

The SSSNB is responsible for setting up and then implementing a framework within which it will negotiate on the pay and conditions of service for school support staff. The goal is a nationally consistent framework with local flexibility. ASCL supports this with the caveat that the local dimension is at a school or college level.

Although ASCL is not a voting member of SSSNB we are in a good position to influence matters through attendance at the Support Staff Working Group (SSWG) meetings and in the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG), or social partnership. Ministers have directed the SSSNB to work closely with WAMG to ensure that the wider aspects of remodelling are taken into account.

ASCL's immediate priority is to ensure that the SSSNB pay spine extends high enough to permit our members to be properly remunerated for the important work that they do.

There is much ground to be covered by the SSNB and it is anticipated that the earliest that changes to pay and conditions will occur is 2010-11. We are aware that in the meantime, members continue to face issues relating to single status agreements.

Information for colleagues dealing with implementation of single status agreements can be found in ASCL guidance paper 56. Go to www.ascl.org.uk/guidance and click on 'guidance papers'.

While the SSSNB is a positive step for support staff pay and conditions, ASCL will continue to campaign ultimately for there to be one pay spine for teaching and non-teaching staff on school leadership teams.