To ask the Minister of Education to detail any action he is taking to address workforce shortages of classroom assistants.

In November 2024, the Pay & Grading Agreement was implemented for support staff across the education system. This was a significant project aimed at addressing recruitment and retention challenges across a range of support roles, including Classroom Assistants, by reviewing the pay on offer for these roles.

In addition to the Pay & Grading increase, the NJC annual pay award was implemented in December 2024, and this delivered a £1,920 uplift to all Classroom Assistants pay points. It is envisaged that the improved pay on offer for Classroom Assistants will help attract and retain staff in these roles.

Additionally, the Education Authority (EA) is currently seeking to progress several strategically important projects targeted at improving recruitment and retention of Classroom Assistants. They have established a working group to explore and develop solutions to several wider challenges related to the Classroom Assistant recruitment and employment model. They have also engaged with school principals to better understand the challenges faced when appointing Classroom Assistants; and are planning a range of actions in response to this feedback.

The EA has also submitted a bid for Public Sector Transformation funding to allow the development of an improved model and system for supplying temporary support staff, similar to the NISTR system for teachers.