NEARLY two in five school support staff have covered classes in place of teachers, a Unison report says.

The figure rises to two in three for teaching assistants, according to a survey of more than 8,000 support staff in England.

The union warned of the impacts on the government’s special educational needs & disabilities (Send) plans in its Covering the Gaps report published today.

Unison head of education Mike Short warned that children and young people are losing out as a result of support staff being used to plug classroom staffing gaps.

“When teaching assistants and others are pulled into covering lessons, children can miss out on vital classroom support, interventions and one-to-one help. This is especially concerning for pupils with Send. 

“Staff are being asked to take on extra responsibility without enough resources or, in many cases, additional pay.  

“Ministers must ensure schools have the staff and funding so pupils get the right assistance and support staff can do the jobs they were employed to do.” 

University of Greenwich lead researcher Rob Webster said: “The findings suggest that cover by teaching assistants and other support staff is masking wider workforce pressures.  

“Schools cannot keep compensating for teacher shortages by diverting these staff from the vital work pupils and schools depend on them to do. 

“For teaching assistants, that tends to mean less support for pupils who need it most. This has implications for the government’s Send reforms, which will depend on schools having sufficient capacity to support the inclusion of pupils with additional needs.  

“The growing reliance on support staff to cover lessons is another sign that the government needs a comprehensive response to the ongoing teacher recruitment and retention crisis.”