School Support Staff Negotiating Body: consultation outcome published

The government has published its response to the consultation and call for evidence on the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). The SSSNB will be a statutory negotiating body for school support staff in England. It is intended to provide a national forum for negotiating minimum pay and conditions, and for advising on training and career progression. The government describes this as part of its wider commitment to improving job security, fair treatment and standards for support staff.

The consultation outcome sets out the proposed scope of the SSSNB, provides further detail on how minimum terms and conditions will operate and sets out the government’s position on agency workers.

Who will be in scope?

The government has confirmed that, for the purposes of the SSSNB, “support staff” will mean directly employed staff, other than teachers, who support the operation of schools. This includes staff who support pupils, school facilities and school processes, up to and including middle leadership roles.

The SSSNB will include academy trust employees in support staff roles who work from locations other than one or more academies, such as central trust offices. However, staff whose pay and conditions are already covered by certain other national pay bodies, executive leaders working for academy trusts, and senior non-teaching staff with strategic responsibilities in maintained schools and academies will be excluded.

The detail of who will be in scope will be set out in regulations in autumn 2026, supported by non-statutory guidance to help employers identify which staff will fall within the remit of the SSSNB. 

Minimum terms 

The government has confirmed that the SSSNB will establish statutory minimum terms and conditions only. In other words, it will create “floors”, not “ceilings”. Staff who already benefit from more favourable terms will retain them, while staff whose terms fall below the statutory minimums agreed through the SSSNB will be uplifted. Employers will also retain flexibility to offer terms above the statutory minimums, allowing them to respond to local needs, recruitment pressures and labour market conditions.

Timescales

The government has also confirmed that existing arrangements will continue during the 2026–27 financial year, with SSSNB outcomes applying from 2027–28 at the earliest. The initial focus will be on establishing new minimum levels for terms and conditions, with incremental contractual improvements over time.

The response also acknowledges concerns raised by the sector about equal pay and employer burdens. The government says it will continue to work with stakeholders to assess those issues and support employers to operate in line with their equal pay obligations as the secondary legislation, guidance and supporting materials are developed.

Agency workers

The government has decided not to extend the SSSNB to agency workers at this stage, reasoning that the evidence base was limited and there was no clear consensus from consultation responses. The initial focus will therefore be on staff directly employed by local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts in England.

That said, the issue has not been closed off entirely. The Department for Education will work with SSSNB member organisations to review the evidence and position on agency workers within the first year of the SSSNB’s operation.

What happens next?

Secondary legislation is expected in autumn 2026 to establish the SSSNB and to set out which staff are included within, and excluded from, its scope.  The government intends to publish non-statutory guidance to support employers to identify affected staff consistently. 

The government has also confirmed that employers do not need to take immediate action: school support staff will remain covered by existing arrangements for the 2026–27 financial year, with the first improvements to contracts as a result of the SSSNB expected from 2027–28 at the earliest. Although no immediate changes are required, schools and academy trusts should begin to consider which roles may fall within scope.