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Role of SSSNB

Support staff make up over half of the directly employed school workforce, which includes a wide range of roles, such as:

• teaching assistants
• administrative staff
• catering staff
• caretakers

The SSSNB will recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake. In turn, this will:

• support work to raise standards in schools
• ensure children get the best possible life chances

The SSSNB is an important part of the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay and opportunity mission.

Definition of support staff

We held a public consultation in 2025 to inform the set-up of the SSSNB. We published the consultation findings and government’s response on 9 July 2026.

The response confirms that, for the purposes of the SSSNB, ‘support staff’ will mean directly employed staff, other than teachers, who support the operation of schools, including supporting pupils, school facilities and school processes, up to and including middle leadership roles. This includes academy trust employees in support staff roles who work from locations other than one or more academies.

Further information about the SSSNB and what it means for support staff and schools is available on the Education Hub blog.

Timeline

On 18 December 2025, the received Royal Assent. The allows for the SSSNB to be established.

Secondary legislation will be required to commence and constitute the body. The SSSNB is expected to be established in autumn 2026.

Employers do not need to take immediate action. School support staff will continue to be covered by their existing arrangements in the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

The first improvements to support staff contracts will apply to the 2027 to 2028 financial year at the earliest. 

Further information and guidance will be provided in the autumn term, before the body is established.