College teachers will now benefit from a 10 per cent discount for teachers on their shopping at Morrisons after the supermarket chain performed a U-turn over its new initiative.
The supermarket chain announced on Thursday that primary, secondary, private and special educational school teachers would be able to claim the discount, as well as all teaching assistants, catering staff, dinner ladies, caretakers, cleaners and school office staff.
Coronavirus: Teacher shopping discount
From Monday until after Christmas, these school staff will all receive 10 per cent off the cost of their shopping if they show their ID at the checkout.
The supermarket chain said it was to say thank you to those who are looking after the nation’s children and supporting them through the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the terms and conditions specified at the time said that the teachers’ discount was "not available to staff from private nurseries, colleges, sixth-form colleges or universities".
However, the terms and conditions have now been changed to say the teachers’ discount is available to "anyone who works in private nurseries, local authority nurseries and pre-schools, primary, secondary, private and special education schools, sixth-form colleges and further education colleges". "This includes teachers, teaching assistants, office staff, catering staff and janitors, provided they are employed directly by the school and not a private company and they have an identification badge."
Teacher pay: FE and schools pay gap to rise to over £9,000 per year
The Colleges of the Future: The 11 must-haves
Long read: 'The beginning of serious pride in the UK's FE sector'
CollegesWales chief executive Iestyn Davies took to Twitter on Friday to express his disappointment at the exclusion of FE staff.
Earlier this year, Tes reported that the pay gap between school teachers and FE lecturers could rise to over £9,000 per year.
According to the Education and Training Foundation's FE workforce survey published in spring 2020, the average salary of an FE teacher in England is £32,500, £9,322 less than school teachers could receive from the 2020-21 academic year.
