View in EDS

The School Support Staff Workforce in England: Annual Report 2026

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The School Support Staff Workforce in England: Annual Report 2026
Language: English
Authors: Michael Scott, Jack Worth, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)
Source: National Foundation for Educational Research. 2026.
Availability: National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK. Tel: +44-1753-574123; Fax: +44-1753-637280; e-mail: enquiries@nfer.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.nfer.ac.uk
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 26
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: Nuffield Foundation (United Kingdom)
Document Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Secondary Education
Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: School Personnel, Labor Force, School Administration, Career Development, Labor Turnover, Foreign Countries, Salaries, Work Environment, Labor Market, Demand Occupations, Teacher Aides, Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Special Schools, Referral, Early Childhood Education, Recruitment
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
ISBN: 978-1-916567-52-8
Abstract: Support staff make up more than half of the school workforce in England, yet compared to teachers relatively little research has been done into the labour force dynamics of this diverse group. NFER is seeking to address that gap with a series of annual workforce reports looking at school support staff. Support staff play an important role in enabling schools to provide a high-quality education. For example, in a 2023 survey, 95 per cent of school leaders said teaching assistants (TAs) have a positive impact on their schools' ability to improve academic outcomes for pupils while 92 per cent said they improve pupil behaviour and engagement (CFE Research, 2024). Of course, support staff includes other types of workers: administrators, auxiliary staff, technicians, school business professionals and various other categories of support staff also make essential contributions to school life. The aim of the National Foundation for Educational Research's (NFER) annual series of reports on the education workforce, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is to monitor progress towards meeting workforce supply challenges. This report summarises the latest research and key trends in support staff numbers, recruitment, retention, pay and working conditions and explores how policy changes may affect these trends and challenges, where they exist.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED679737
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED679737
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED679737
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The School Support Staff Workforce in England: Annual Report 2026
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Michael+Scott%22">Michael Scott</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jack+Worth%22">Jack Worth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22National+Foundation+for+Educational+Research+%28NFER%29+%28United+Kingdom%29%22">National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22National+Foundation+for+Educational+Research%22"><i>National Foundation for Educational Research</i></searchLink>. 2026.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK. Tel: +44-1753-574123; Fax: +44-1753-637280; e-mail: enquiries@nfer.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.nfer.ac.uk
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 26
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: SourceSuprt
  Label: Sponsoring Agency
  Group: SrcSuprt
  Data: Nuffield Foundation (United Kingdom)
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Evaluative
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Personnel%22">School Personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+Force%22">Labor Force</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Administration%22">School Administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Career+Development%22">Career Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+Turnover%22">Labor Turnover</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Salaries%22">Salaries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+Environment%22">Work Environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+Market%22">Labor Market</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Demand+Occupations%22">Demand Occupations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Aides%22">Teacher Aides</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Schools%22">Elementary Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+Schools%22">Secondary Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Schools%22">Special Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Referral%22">Referral</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recruitment%22">Recruitment</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink>
– Name: ISBN
  Label: ISBN
  Group: ISBN
  Data: 978-1-916567-52-8
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Support staff make up more than half of the school workforce in England, yet compared to teachers relatively little research has been done into the labour force dynamics of this diverse group. NFER is seeking to address that gap with a series of annual workforce reports looking at school support staff. Support staff play an important role in enabling schools to provide a high-quality education. For example, in a 2023 survey, 95 per cent of school leaders said teaching assistants (TAs) have a positive impact on their schools' ability to improve academic outcomes for pupils while 92 per cent said they improve pupil behaviour and engagement (CFE Research, 2024). Of course, support staff includes other types of workers: administrators, auxiliary staff, technicians, school business professionals and various other categories of support staff also make essential contributions to school life. The aim of the National Foundation for Educational Research's (NFER) annual series of reports on the education workforce, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is to monitor progress towards meeting workforce supply challenges. This report summarises the latest research and key trends in support staff numbers, recruitment, retention, pay and working conditions and explores how policy changes may affect these trends and challenges, where they exist.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED679737
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED679737
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: School Personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor Force
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Administration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Career Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor Turnover
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Salaries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Work Environment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor Market
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Demand Occupations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Aides
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Elementary Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Special Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Referral
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early Childhood Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Recruitment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (England)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The School Support Staff Workforce in England: Annual Report 2026
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Michael Scott
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Jack Worth
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 978-1-916567-52-8
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: National Foundation for Educational Research
              Type: main
ResultId 1