Labour Research January 2020

Health & Safety Matters

School staff cuts


A survey by the UNISON public services union finds that almost a third (32%) of secondary school technicians think staff cuts are putting pupil safety at risk. The union surveyed 500 technicians who support science, IT, design and technology teachers.


Since 2013, their numbers have been cut by around 17% in both secondary and primary schools. As a result, says UNISON head of education Jon Richards, “well-meaning but unskilled colleagues are being asked to step in, sometimes risking their own safety and that of pupils and colleagues”.

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2019/11/school-technician-cuts-put-safety-risk