THE teaching strikes will be one of the most wide-reaching examples of industrial action that Scotland has seen in recent years.
Schools closing their gates, children missing school and parents having to arrange childcare or stay off work – the short-term impact is hard to miss.
However, those who help in the classroom play a crucial role too, and there are pleas to ensure the value of their work is kept in mind when it comes time to find cash for a pay rise.
Current demands from teaching unions are for a 10% pay rise, but this has been rejected by councils, stating that it is unaffordable.
READ MORE: Teachers in Scotland announce major 16-day strike for 2023
Councillor Katie Hagmann, Cosla's resources spokesperson, said: “We are disappointed that strikes are going ahead.
"In an effort to prevent strikes happening, on Tuesday afternoon, we as employers made a revised fourth offer to our trade union colleagues, that did include additional money.
"It was a fair and affordable offer which recognises the cost of living crisis as the priority by focusing on higher increases for staff on lower pay points.
“Teachers are a core part of that workforce and are supported in their roles by other council employees who help keep schools open and clean.
"It was an offer that ensured no additional pressure is placed on teachers themselves, as well as any other parts of our hardworking workforce and the essential services they deliver, and importantly it protects the best interests of children and young people.
“The response of our trade union partners is disappointing given the financial challenges facing everybody, but we remain open to having open and honest conversations about how we can reach a viable and realistic settlement that protects the best interests of teachers, children and young people and our wider communities.”
If an agreement is reached on pay, councils will have to start finding the extra cash to pay teachers. With all councils expected to make cuts, one possibility is taking cash from other education services which councils provide to ensure children are being supported as much as possible in their education.
This could mean, for example, a reduction in the number of pupil support assistants in classrooms.
Teachers are not the only council employees that keep schools running – management teams, office staff, pupil support assistants, janitors ... all play a role in keeping schools open, clean and safe and lessons running smoothly.
Pupil support assistants provide extra support in class to pupils who need additional help or who have fallen behind in schoolwork. This has a knock-on effect of aiding in lessons running smoothly.
Amy Woodhouse, head of policy, projects and participation at Children in Scotland, said: “We hear repeatedly how important pupil support assistants are. And we did some work over the summer asking children and young people about pupil support staff and what their views were of them.
"And it's powerful to see how valued they are in terms of just making schools feel safe and inclusive, helping all children with different needs feel comfortable, working with them to help them adapt, helping them engage with their learning and give them reassurance.
“Teachers find them invaluable in the classroom because, as you can imagine, teachers have to be in charge of so much, especially if they’ve got a class of around 30. That individual attention they would love to do. But when it works well, it can very much be a team in which the teacher is working with the pupil support staff.”
Pupil support assistants are paid significantly less than teachers.
If the service is cut and remaining pupil support assistants are forced to take on more work, there is a worry that children could be left behind or struggle to keep up. This could then impact how children socialise and how they act at home.
Nicola Reekie from The PDA Space, a blog which assists parents in supporting children with a neurodivergence, said: “Class sizes are just so huge that if you’ve got 32 children and the ratio is one out of eight will have a neurodivergence, that means you’ve got four children in that classroom needing extra support
“The short-term thinking financially is apparent; we’ve seen it ourselves with our youngest son who has been unable to return to school because there’s such a lack of understanding and support
“Children and parents are told that they’re not important, their needs aren’t acknowledged. The impact of that is detrimental.”
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