School Support Staff Welcome Review

April 5, 2007

School Support Staff Welcome Review

Support staff in the country’s primary and secondary schools are pleased the Ministry of Education is reviewing the bulk funding of their salaries and hope this will lead to a more effective system of funding their jobs.

“Support staff have been bulk funded for 18 years and the system has definitely passed its use by date,” says Irene Cooper, the National President of the New Zealand Educational Institute. NZEI Te Riu Roa represents more than 10,500 support staff. They work in 2500 schools as teacher aides, executive officers, financial assistants, librarians, ICT technicians, therapists, nurses, kairahi i te reo (fluent Maori speakers) and a wide range of other jobs.

Bulk funding support staff from each school’s operations grant was introduced in 1989, when schools
became self managing as part of the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms. “The number of support staff has more than tripled since then,” says Irene Cooper. “The problem is that bulk funding has failed to cope with this massive increase in the number of support staff.”

“At the same time their jobs have become far more complex and schools now rely heavily on the skills and expertise of their support staff.”

“These aren’t parent helpers, doing a bit of part time work, these are skilled employees with a career working in schools alongside teachers,” says Irene Cooper.

She says the fact that schools struggle to pay their support staff from their operations grant was proven in reviews carried out by both the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office.

The Ministry review recommended that the Government establish a ‘workstream’ to consider “how the support staff workforce might best be supported and resourced to fufill their roles in our schools in the future.”

“Support staff are pleased the Ministry has begun this work,” says Irene Cooper.“It’s a chance to
measure the major changes that have occurred in schools that’s led to the dramatic increase in the number and range of support staff in schools.”

“This will enable us to gauge the level of support staff schools actually require to carry out essential administrative work and meet the needs of their students now and into the future.”

“We can then develop a funding system that ensures schools are able to employ the support staff
they need and provide them with pay and working conditions that recognises the vital work they perform,” says Irene Cooper.

The Ministry and ERO reviews also highlighted the difficulty schools have providing ICT (Information and Communications Technology) for their students to use as part of their education programmes.

“We’re pleased that the Ministry is also looking at the funding and use of ICT in schools because the current situation is unacceptable,” says Irene Cooper.

“Currently schools have to raise most of the money for ICT provision themselves. That’s simply not good enough when ICT skills are essential to life in the 21st century.”

ENDS

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