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Independent sector support staff
The question most commonly asked about ATL by independent school support staff is "can I join the Union?" Well the short answer is "yes" - all members of the school community are entitled to join ATL.
Support staff who are directly involved in the delivery of education e.g. teaching assistants, librarians, technicians, are now eligible to apply for full standard membership of ATL. This means that in all respects, support staff who meet this criterion have the same rights as their teaching colleagues, including the ability to stand for election and hold office within ATL.
Employees working in the education sector who are not directly involved in the delivery of education (eg administrative staff, caretakers, receptionists, secretaries, ancillary staff, house-parents, medical staff) are also able to join ATL as Individual Affiliate Members (IAM).
Similarly, IAM status membership is also open to all non-administrative employees who have contact with pupils in an educational capacity or have a post which has an educative context to it (eg chaplains, welfare or attendance support staff and parent-school liaison officers).
So the benefits for support staff who join ATL are identical to those available to teachers, but at a lower subscription rate:
| Single payment by direct debit | Monthly payment by direct debit* | Single payment by cheque or debit/credit card |
| Full-time (21 hours or more per week) | ||
| £105.00 | £8.75 per month | £105.00 |
| Part-time (less than 21 but more than 10.5 hours per week) | ||
| £72.00 | £6 per month | £72.00 |
| Part-time (less than 10.5 hours per week) | ||
| £48.00 | £4 per month | £48.00 |
* Direct debits are collected over a maximum of 12 months, subject to the month of joining. Example instalment schedule shown - you will be advised of your instalment schedule following enrolment and prior to any direct debit payments being collected. Total payment is equal to single annual payment by direct debit, cheque or debit/credit card
Bursars and examination officers and assistants can also join ATL at a specially discounted subscription rate, thanks to our unique Group Affiliate partnerships with the Independent Schools Bursars Association (ISBA) and the Examination Officers Association (EOA).
You can find out more about joining ATL here.
If you would like to order ATL independent sector support staff application forms, and recruitment posters, please visit our publications and resources page.
You can download a copy of a letter you can use to encourage your colleagues to join ATL here.
If you would like an ATL official to visit your school to talk about the benefits of ATL membership, or if you have a query about ATL membership, please email Peter Morris, ATL national official for support staff.