NEARLY three-quarters (72 per cent) of support staff workers reported working in excess of their contracted hours, in new research published today.

The NEU poll, which surveyed 3,000 support staff members, found that only one in seven were paid for the extra hours.

Some 75 per cent said their workload had increased in the past year.

In the same period, 57 per cent reported that support staff numbers at their school had reduced.

Seventy-three per cent of cover supervisors said they are forced to engage in work beyond their contract, while 75 per cent consider it to be effectively the work of a supply teacher.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “These are some of the lowest-paid workers in schools, yet workload demands and responsibilities increase. Many are taking on work beyond their job description and for no money.”

He called on the government to “prioritise proper funding for schools so that the pressures on staff are alleviated after 14 years of neglect.”

A Department for Education spokesperson: “School support staff make a huge contribution to children’s education, and are crucial to our Plan for Change to drive high and rising standards across our schools, helping all children achieve and thrive.

“We are establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, as a measure in the Employment Rights Bill, which will address recruitment and retention challenges and set national terms and conditions including on pay, support and workload.”