I’m going to start this post with a message from Daniel Kebede – the NEU General Secretary.
A little historical background….
Before the ATL and NUT merged to form the NEU, the ATL had support staff members – approximately 20,000.
Back then, all schools were Local Authority schools in some form, and all support staff were employed by the local government. So, most support staff were in one of the “general” unions – Unison, Unite and GMB.
As these were the biggest unions for support staff, these three formed the NJC (National Joint Council for Local Government Services). Unions generally follow a “non-poaching” rule – unions did not recruit members from each other – so the ATL formed an agreement with the NJC unions not to actively recruit, not to “organise” members and not to seek national negotiating rights (but we could keep representing members locally). In 2017, the ATL & NUT merger formed the NEU, and the NEU re-signed that agreement.
At the centre of Saturday’s debate was this 2017 TUC agreement governing the NEU’s relationship to school support staff. That agreement is no longer fit for purpose. It explicitly states that the NEU “should undertake no action that could be regarded as organising activity on behalf of school support staff”. The 2017 agreement restricted the NEU from being the union we are – and the union our members need us to be.
Had we abided by the 2017 agreement we would not have been able to save jobs at Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (Staffordshire, Coventry, Birmingham), we would not have secured years of back pay for support staff at Cathedral Schools Trust (Bristol), we would not have been successful in many other disputes where have secured jobs and better working conditions for members.
What was under discussion is how that unity is made real in the world of work as it exists today – and whether existing arrangements enable us to organise effectively, defend our members, and build power for working people in schools. Teachers and support staff now work ever more closely together, with classroom, pastoral and SEND responsibilities increasingly shared rather than separated. The world of work has changed rapidly, and nowhere is this more evident than in education.
So… what changed since 2017?
Pretty much everything in the education sector. Academisation and privatisation mean that the majority of schools are no longer under local authority control. The structures that once governed employment relations no longer reflect the lived reality of staff working in schools today.
Most support staff are not in any union – they are unrepresented by anyone.
Most schools are now academies, with support staff employed by the academy (or by contracted companies) – very few education sector workers are local government employees, so the NJC negotiations directly affect very few support staff (and though most academies do implement the agreement – they are not required to).
Being separate workplaces – there are not usually support staff reps in every school – but union structures based around local goverment are no longer suitable for school support staff either.
That is why, as a union, we welcome the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). It re‑establishes a national, statutory voice for school support staff on pay, terms and conditions, and recognises the vital, skilled work they do in keeping our schools running.
Without “actively recruiting” (e.g. no posters, no discounts, etc) – the NEU has more than trebled the number of support staff members.
But a serious question must be asked: what legitimacy can the SSSNB have when the NEU – the second largest union representing school support staff in England – is excluded from it?
The General Secretary, has consistently sought a negotiated resolution to this situation. The NEU has put forward serious, constructive proposals: joint membership arrangements for support staff; pro‑rata distribution of subscriptions to NJC unions; and other models for joint working. Three of the four unions involved – NEU, UNITE and UNISON – reached agreement on joint working principles.
So… what now?
On Saturday 28th of February 2026, a special conference was held in London.
Our special conference took a clear and decisive step. Delegates voted to withdraw from the 2017 TUC agreement that has governed our relationship with support staff.
Of the 1,200 delegates in the hall, the decision was near unanimous (one vote against, three abstentions).
That strength of feeling speaks for itself. The motion will now be implemented in full.
But as we move forward, one principle remains unchanged: unity.
Unity matters today just as much as it did yesterday. The challenges facing education, and working people more widely are profound and growing.
When we organise together, when we act together, we ensure that progress is shared and that every worker, in every role, has the dignity, respect and reward they deserve.
We did not advocate for leaving the TUC, and we did not debate about whether trade unions should work together. Of course we should.
Unity matters, and it always will.
Sources:
- Social Media posts by the NEU / Daniel Kebede
- Report on special conference by Steve Griffiths