School staff should be entitled to free school meals, according to a new campaign, because some are having to skip food as their pay doesn't stretch far enough for three meals a day. Staff such as teaching assistants are having to rely on food banks.
School worker Mary Goodson, told MyLondon: “When we started going back into schools after Covid, the crisis became apparent. One school near Colindale had a foodbank there as you go in the gate. I said, ‘oh God - who uses this, the parents?’ The staff replied that it was for them too. Things are really bad. They’re hand to mouth, many are single parents, or their partners are in lower-paid jobs. It is so sad.”
A new campaign running over the school holidays will ask councils to provide free lunches for TAs and school support staff. Glassdoor, Checkasalary and Indeed’s websites - using separate data on wages - all put the average teaching assistant salary in London at around £21,000 a year. The average London salary across all sectors is closer to £40,000.
