The GMB union said last week that it believed the deal that it and Unison have struck with the local authority could, if accepted by the support staff, provide a template for the rest of England. The unions, which represent more than 4,000 support staff in over 450 schools in Birmingham, said last week that a 'breakthrough' had been made after several years of negotiations between both the unions and Birmingham City Council.
Rob Kelsall, GMB regional organiser for school support staff in the West Midlands, said, 'We have been in discussions for two years with the city on a new career structure for higher level teaching assistants. Last autumn the local authority felt that it had gone as far as it could in delivering a new career structure, but we said it wasn't good enough.
'We held a ballot and 90 per cent of classroom-based support staff rejected the deal. So it was back to the drawing board. But now that the deal has been refined, we are recommending it to our members for agreement.'
Three levels of support staff are covered by the deal. Level four are higher-level teaching assistants, level three are NNEBs, experienced teaching assistants or class-based staff, and level two are unqualified teaching assistants.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the proposed deal will be that level three staff would be able to offer cover supervision and, within limitations, supervise a class.
However, Mr Kelsall said, 'This will only take place in an emergency situation, such as a teacher having slept in or had a car breakdown. It would also be for less than the whole lesson and for a maximum of two hours in a week.
'The higher-level teaching assistants will be able to offer cover for a maximum of three sessions per week. How long this will be time-wise depends on the setting and how the school day is organised.'
The main elements of the deal include salaries for higher-level teaching assistants ranging from just over 17,000 to 20,190 under option one - those working a pedagogic, classroom-based role - and from just under 19,200 to 22,690 under option two - those with managerial responsibility, and a lifting of the level three pay band for experienced teaching assistants to a basic salary of just under 15,000 a year from just over 13,800 at present. The deal will also see the retaining of a special needs allowance for all special schools and staff within specialist units, full-time status for all current staff, and the introduction of responsibility allowances of either 500 or 750 a year.
Mr Kelsall added that the new career structure and improved pay structure would mean that the higher-level teaching assistants would be school-based for 36.5 hours a week, which would include four hours of 'built-in' paid time within their contractual hours for staff meetings or administrative duties.
'The responsibility allowances will mean that staff with skills that are seldom ever rewarded in schools, such as bilingual skills, will receive an extra 500 or 750 on top of their basic salary,' Mr Kelsall said.
Sue Meanley, Unison school convenor for Birmingham, insisted that 'one or two tweaks' needed to be made to the deal before the union would recommend the deal to its members, but she said it had 'the potential to be a blueprint deal'.
GMB and Unison will begin balloting members across Birmingham's schools from 10 May and the result will be announced on 28 May.
