UNISON is delighted to introduce Skills for Schools, a new website that will give school support staff a host of information and help about training and career development.
The website provides a central hub for information on a wide range of roles available in schools, together with links to useful training resources.
One of the key aims of Skills for Schools is to ensure that clear and consistent information is easily accessible for current support staff and school leaders who want to know about how they can develop their careers, together with people outside who want to work in schools.
In a recent UNISON survey of school support staff, 64% expressed concern about access to training and development.
With the loss of the Training and Development Agency for Schools, changes to qualification frameworks and squeezed school budgets, this is no surprise.
But school support staff can have a huge impact on positive outcomes for pupils, as academic studies and personal testimonies continue to demonstrate. Opportunities for training and development can only support this.
Skills for Schools includes information on roles in schools covering pupil support and welfare, teaching and learning support, facilities, specialist and technical and admin and management.
Outlines are given of what’s involved, the skills and experience needed, potential training and development and links to other resources. Many of the roles described link to a real-life story, where school support staff have told us the inside story about the job, the training and development they have completed and their future plans.
Over time, we hope to have a real-life story for every role on the site – so please get in touch if you would like to feature.
For those already working in a school, there’s a career planner that allows users to input their current role, qualifications and skills. The planner will suggest alternative roles to consider, and suggest potential qualifications support the journey being considered.
The website also hosts a library, which includes evidence and research about the role of school support staff and the difference they make at school.
While this part of the site may be of interest to schools staff, it also helps UNISON demonstrate to the wider world that, with over 350,000 members working in the education sector, we have a lot to say their contribution to our society.
The latest resource accessible on the website is an interactive online guide to Coping with Care, which outlines the role of schools staff in supporting pupils with health needs, and is based on new statutory guidance published in September 2014 in England.
The Skills for Schools website is a great new tool, but a website alone is not enough. And UNISON will continue in our campaigning for a national programme of funded, accessible and relevant continuing professional development for all school support staff.