Chris Hipkins
MP for Rimutaka
Education (incl Tertiary and ECE)

MEDIA STATEMENT

1 May 2017

Time to recognise school support staff

School support staff do an amazing job with some of our most vulnerable children and they deserve better recognition, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins.

“This morning I worked alongside support staff at Upper Hutt Primary School. I got to see first-hand what a fantastic job they do and was reminded of the challenges that they face.

“It’s time we recognised their roles properly and funded them accordingly.

“At the moment, school support staff are paid out of the school operations grant. That means they are competing with day-to-day costs like electricity, ICT, classroom resources and school maintenance. That’s just not right.

“The Labour Party has made a clear commitment to fund school support staff through a centralised system, as we presently do for teachers. Through such a system we can make sure they get the recognition they deserve.

“We will also ensure that support staff are given better training and professional development opportunities, and have access to a career framework that rewards them for advancing their skills.

“School support staff are national treasures. Let’s thank them for their exceptional work by giving them the pay and conditions they deserve,” says Chris Hipkins.

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