The country’s largest multi-academy trust has said it is looking to offer “significant” pay rises for support staff, especially those in lower-paid roles.
United Learning trust said that the pay rise was being considered to reflect the cost-of-living increases staff are facing.
It comes as a leading headteacher said his school had decided to improve pay for support staff to remain competitive with the private sector after a high number of teaching assistant departures.
Inflation and the increased cost of living have already led to two major teaching unions calling for major pay rises from the government and raising the prospect of strike action if this does not happen.
But leading figures in the sector have suggested that pay rises are also needed for support staff amid concerns that staff can earn more in supermarket jobs.
A United Learning spokesperson said: “We already use our flexibilities and economies of scale to pay teachers more, and have done for some years. For example, our national rate starting salary was £28,000 this year, compared to £25,714 in maintained schools. There was no pay freeze in United Learning schools last year.
“We fully expect to continue to pay teachers more than national pay and conditions and are also looking at significant pay increases for support staff, especially the lower paid, reflecting the particular cost of living pressures these colleagues face.
“Pay is not everything, of course, but education is fundamentally about people and we will continue to prioritise using the money the organisation receives to reward staff as well as can be afforded.”
The trust added that it had the “same financial resources as everyone else, but by making significant economies of scale, we can afford to pay more and we will continue to do so”.
Pepe Di’lasio, headteacher of Wales High in Rotherham, revealed that his school is having major problems recruiting entry level teaching assistants.
Mr Di’lasio, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) president, said: “What we’re seeing is the private sector looking to increase their salaries in order to remain competitive and ensure that their staff have a decent standard of living.
“We’re currently having no problems recruiting teachers, but we are having massive problems getting entry level teaching assistants. We’ve also lost 20 TAs in the last three years, who have moved on to better paid jobs elsewhere.
“Previously when I’ve looked at this issue, we’ve not wanted to get involved in what I’d call the ‘arms race’. Because if we pay more, then the school up the road has to, and everyone pays more across the field, and schools are not flushed with money.
“But now, I’ve gone to the governors and we’re looking at offering different contracts, and terms and conditions, and this will involved increased remuneration.
“The way I look at it, if this happened in another part of the school - we couldn’t attract the right staff - we would do the same. It’s supply and demand in a way.”
Speaking in May, Dan Morrow, chief executive and trust leader at Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, told Tes that staff in administrative roles across schools in the trust had told him they were planning on leaving to work in supermarkets, as they could earn more because of the greater range of shifts on offer.
He also said there were several vacant support staff positions across the trust that “literally don’t have people applying”.
Mr Morrow said at the time that the trust was planning a pay rise for support staff in the summer but that he was somewhat reluctant to do this because it would put pressure on other schools to do the same when they might not be able to afford it.
