The question of whether teaching assistants (TAs) should continue performing extra duties when the Covid pandemic is over has been raised by public service union Unison.

Unison has already highlighted how TAs have helped keep schools open during the pandemic by standing in for teachers, and how they have doubled up as cleaners in some schools, despite safety concerns.

And it says they they are now providing pastoral support to children at a time when “mental health issues are going through the roof” while they are also being considered as potential tutors to help deliver the National Tutoring Programme (NTP).

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Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: “We know there’s a big challenge about what’s going to happen to the workload of teaching assistants when we come out of the pandemic because, understandably, they have become more flexible and taken on extra duties, and the question is: is that sustainable in the long-term and should it be sustainable?

“Clearly, teaching assistants stepped up and covered for teachers, which was right because you do that in a crisis, but in the long-term, how are teaching assistants going to be used?”

The issue of TA workload has been one of the points raised this week during urgent talks between Unison and school employers over a support staff pay rise.

Talks resumed yesterday after a 1.5 per cent pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected last month.

Mr Richards added: “Given all that these key education workers have done during the pandemic, it [the offer] fell far short of what they need.

“During the last 15 months, school support staff kept schools open, looked after vulnerable children, deep-cleaned schools and kept pupils fed. They’re now providing pastoral support to children at a time when mental health issues are going through the roof.

“Add on the additional work the government is asking schools to do to recover pupils’ lost learning and it’s absolutely right that support staff get a fair deal. 

“Pay talks are continuing and Unison will keep making the case for extra resources from government so school staff can receive the pay increase they truly deserve.”

Meanwhile, Unison says it wants to make sure TAs are “doing productive work” in schools rather  than being called on to do “short-term cover”.

Mr Richards said a good example of how TAs could be used in the NTP was the NELI programme (Nuffield Early Language Intervention).

Under the programme, teaching assistants were given two and a half days training and detailed lesson plans so they could lead “short, structured sessions” to help boost language skills of four- and five-year-olds who are falling behind.

Last year, school support staff received a 2.75 per cent pay rise.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful for the hard work of all school staff, including teaching assistants, during the pandemic in supporting children and young people and helping them to continue their education. We recognise the pressures school staff have faced over the last year and we have worked to produce tools to support all staff and reduce workload.”