Low-paid school support staff are dipping into their own pockets to buy food, supplies and uniforms for pupils, while struggling to pay their own bills, grim research shows.
Almost all (98%) of the 6,000 the workers surveyed by Unison were concerned their wages wouldn't cover the soaring cost of living. School staff often earn less than £20,000 a year.
But big-hearted school staff, who include teaching assistants and librarians, are still using their own cash to help their pupils, with more than a third (35%) helping pupils get enough to eat.
Almost a quarter (23%) of support staff used their own money to buy stationary for pupils, and around one in three (30%) helped pupils with the cost of uniforms.
One in eight workers (13%) were forced to use foodbanks in the past year - and many expect to turn to them again or rely on their families to provide meals.
One worker told the survey: "I’ve given up my lunch for a pupil who hadn’t eaten any breakfast.
"Staff at school now buy extra loaves of bread in their shopping to feed hungry children. I’ve donated my children’s old school clothes and PE kits to parents in need.”
Over a quarter (27%) said they had to take on a second or third job to make ends meet. More than two fifths (42%) said they had to borrow money to tide them over in the past year.
Staff also told the union about skipping meals to make sure their kids have enough to eat and keeping the heating turned off to make ends meet.
UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “Schools are struggling to hold on to their support staff. Better wages are available elsewhere and that's causing a recruitment crisis.
"These staff are crucial to the smooth running of schools and to the learning experiences of pupils in the classroom. Their pay should better reflect the invaluable support they provide.
"Even though education workers are experiencing tough times themselves, they’re still helping less fortunate pupils and their families. That speaks volumes about their generosity and dedication, but it should never have come to this.
"The government should be hanging its head in shame."
It comes as hundreds of thousands of teachers are being balloted for strike action amid anger over the Government's measly pay offer.
Jeremy Hunt has promised an extra £2.3bn in funding per year for schools for the next two years.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful for the work of all support staff in education and understand the pressures many are facing at the moment due to the challenges of recession and high inflation.
“Whilst decisions over pay are for individual schools, the core schools budget will be boosted by £2 billion in each of the next two years, thanks to the Chancellor’s Autumn statement.
"The IFS has already highlighted the uplift will allow school spending to return to at least 2010 levels in real terms – the highest spending year in history – meaning in real terms we will be putting more into schools than ever before.”
The survey was carried out between October 20 and November 1, and received 6,672 responses.
