Join us
And find out why ATL is the fastest growing union in the education sector
Support staff payscales
There are no statutory pay scales for education support staff in schools.
The government is of the view that individual schools and local education authorities are best placed to set pay rates and terms and conditions for support staff.
Maintained schools
Most LEA schools use the local government pay scales to pay their support staff in conjunction with National Joint Council terms and conditions. However, this can vary between local authorities, which means it is not possible to be prescriptive about the rate of pay support staff will receive.
An employee's contract should state their rate of pay, the point on the local government pay scale this refers to, and how the rate will increase on an incremental basis to a certain point.
Independent schools
Support staff in independent schools are employed on a range of terms and conditions that are determined by their individual contracts.
Some schools employ support staff on a term-time-only basis whereby they are paid for the weeks they work, usually 38 or 39, and then have a leave entitlement added on. This effectively means that they are paid for around 43 or 44 weeks of the year. If a job is advertised quoting a 52-week salary on a term-time-only basis, this can sometimes lead to confusion as the actual term time only salary is significantly less.
Some independent schools use the local government pay scale as the basis for paying support staff, and also increase salaries by the local government pay award each year. However, the incremental annual salary rise which is mandatory in the state sector is not always incorporated into contracts.
Other schools have their own salary rates but as with teachers, details of support staff pay should be included in a written pay policy.
Pay freeze
Current support staff scales are subject to a pay freeze, and remain at 2009 levels.
Local government payscale for support staff
| Spine point | April 2009 | April 2011 |
| 4 | £12,145 | £12,145 |
| 5 | £12,312 | £12,312 |
| 6 | £12,489 | £12,489 |
| 7 | £12,787 | £12,787 |
| 8 | £13,189 | £13,189 |
| 9 | £13,589 | £13,589 |
| 10 | £13,874 | £13,874 |
| 11 | £14,733 | £14,733 |
| 12 | £15,039 | £15,039 |
| 13 | £15,444 | £15,444 |
| 14 | £15,725 | £15,725 |
| 15 | £16,054 | £16,054 |
| 16 | £16,400 | £16,400 |
| 17 | £16,830 | £16,830 |
| 18 | £17,161 | £17,161 |
| 19 | £17,802 | £17,802 |
| 20 | £18,453 | £18,453 |
| 21 | £19,126 | £19,126 |
| 22 | £19,621 | £19,621 |
| 23 | £20,198 | £20,198 |
| 24 | £20,858 | £20,858 |
| 25 | £21,519 | £21,519 |
| 26 | £22,221 | £22,221 |
| 27 | £22,958 | £22,958 |
| 28 | £23,708 | £23,708 |
| 29 | £24,646 | £24,646 |
| 30 | £25,472 | £25,472 |
| 31 | £26,276 | £26,276 |
| 32 | £27,052 | £27,052 |
| 33 | £27,849 | £27,849 |
| 34 | £28,636 | £28,636 |
| 35 | £29,236 | £29,236 |
| 36 | £30,011 | £30,011 |
| 37 | £30,851 | £30,851 |
| 38 | £31,754 | £31,754 |
| 39 | £32,800 | £32,800 |
| 40 | £33,661 | £33,661 |
| 41 | £34,549 | £34,549 |
| 42 | £35,430 | £35,430 |
| 43 | £36,313 | £36,313 |
| 44 | £37,206 | £37,206 |
| 45 | £38,042 | £38,042 |
| 46 | £38,961 | £38,961 |
| 47 | £39,855 | £39,855 |
| 48 | £40,741 | £40,741 |
| 49 | £41,616 | £41,616 |
London weighting and fringe area allowances
| Area | 01/04/09 | 01/04/11 |
| Inner London | £3,299 | £3,299 |
| Outer London | £1,755 | £1,755 |
Special educational needs allowance
| 01/04/09 | 01/04/11 | |
| £1,177 | £1,177 | |
Need further advice?
Your first point of contact is your ATL rep in your school or college. Your local ATL branch is also available to help with queries, or you can contact ATL's member advisors on tel: 020 7930 6441 or email us. Please have your membership number to hand when telephoning and include it with any correspondence - this will help us to answer your query more quickly.