Teenage school staff in South London are taking a stand over maternity rights,walking out of classrooms to demand fair pay for new and expectant mothers. In an unprecedented show of determination, young strikers have joined forces with trade unionists and community activists to challenge what they say is a broken system that punishes low-paid workers for starting a family. Their protest, centred on calls for proper maternity pay and dignified working conditions, exposes deep inequalities in Britain’s education sector-and raises urgent questions about who bears the cost of austerity and underfunding in schools. As Socialist Worker reports, these students-turned-strikers are not only backing their teachers and support staff, but also reshaping the debate on workers’ rights from the ground up.
South London teaching assistants expose insecurity of school maternity pay
Behind the strike placards and picket-line chants lies a stark reality-women who support classrooms across the capital are discovering that their pay packets collapse the moment they become pregnant. Teaching assistants, already on low wages, describe being pushed into debt, forced to cut essential spending or return to work far earlier than doctors advise. Many say the uncertainty begins the day they announce a pregnancy, with conflicting facts from school management, opaque HR procedures and a funding model that allows academy trusts to duck responsibility. The result is a system where those who care for children for a living cannot afford to start or grow families of their own.
Staff argue that this is not just a personal hardship but a structural injustice that hits the lowest-paid women workers hardest.On picket lines they are circulating breakdowns of what they actually receive compared to what they expected, using them as organising tools to push unions, councils and multi-academy trusts into action. Their demands include:
- Clear, guaranteed maternity schemes that go beyond the legal minimum
- Full pay for core periods of leave so staff are not forced back early
- Parity across schools to end postcode and employer lotteries
- Clear contracts that spell out entitlements in plain language
| Role | Before leave | During leave |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching Assistant | £1,450/month | £600/month |
| Midday Supervisor | £650/month | Statutory only |
| Admin Support | £1,250/month | £580/month |
Inside the strike how low paid education staff organised for basic workplace rights
It began with whispered conversations in corridors and hurried chats at the school gate, as teaching assistants, reception staff and support workers compared payslips and discovered just how little protection they had if they became pregnant or needed time off to care for a newborn. With statutory maternity pay leaving many unable to cover rent or food, workers who already juggled multiple jobs realised that “grateful to have work” was being used as a weapon against them. Lunchtime meetings in cramped staff rooms turned into organised workplace gatherings, where staff mapped out who was affected and what rights they should be getting. They drew up demands, shared stories of colleagues pushed out after pregnancy, and decided that petitions and polite emails were no longer enough.
From there, organisation deepened. Union reps helped workers document every shortfall and every management brush‑off, building clear evidence that the school could afford more but chose not to. Staff agreed a set of concrete goals and tactics, including:
- Guaranteeing full maternity pay in line with national agreements, not just the bare legal minimum
- Ending the use of casual and zero‑hours contracts for roles that are permanent in all but name
- Publicly publishing pay scales so workers could see where money was really going
- Coordinating strike days to maximise impact while keeping parents and the community informed and on side
| Issue | Before Action | After Organising |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity pay | Statutory minimum only | Move towards full pay deal |
| Union membership | Scattered and isolated | Majority of support staff joined |
| Workplace voice | Decisions imposed from above | Regular mass meetings and votes |
Legal rights and union power what every school worker should know about maternity protection
Every teacher, teaching assistant and support worker is entitled to basic statutory protections-yet bosses routinely count on confusion to push staff into accepting less. In Britain, that means a legal right to take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave, protection from discrimination or dismissal because of pregnancy, and paid time off for antenatal appointments. But the bare minimum is rarely enough to live on. Statutory Maternity Pay drops after six weeks to a level that barely covers rent and bills, while many outsourced staff are fobbed off with even worse deals. That’s why knowing the difference between what the law guarantees and what your contract or national agreement can win is crucial.
- Know your contract – Check if your school or academy trust offers enhanced pay above the state minimum.
- Keep everything in writing – Emails and letters can expose management backtracking or discrimination.
- Use your union rep – Never attend “informal chats” about your pregnancy or leave plans on your own.
- Act collectively – Grievances, coordinated letters and strikes hit harder when workers move together.
| Issue | Legal Minimum | What Unions Fight For |
|---|---|---|
| Length of leave | Up to 52 weeks | Guaranteed return to same role and hours |
| Maternity pay | 6 weeks at 90% wage, then flat rate | Full or near-full pay for months, not weeks |
| Job security | Protection from unfair dismissal | No reorganisation or downgrading while on leave |
| Workload | Risk assessment duty on employer | Real adjustments to duties and timetable |
Union power turns paper rights into reality. Legal protection matters only if workers are organised enough to enforce it-on the picket line, in formal negotiations and through public campaigns that shame trusts and councils trying to slash maternity packages. School staff who join together can insist that maternity is treated as a collective workplace issue, not an individual “problem” to be managed. When workers strike for decent maternity pay in one South London school, they don’t just defend their own conditions-they raise the benchmark for every classroom, office and corridor across the education system.
From picket lines to policy change concrete steps to win fair maternity pay in every school
Turning the energy of the school gates and staffroom walkouts into lasting gains means coordinating action that stretches far beyond a single dispute. Union reps can push for joint maternity claims across local authorities, demanding standardised policies that guarantee full pay for longer, end discriminatory service requirements and protect staff returning from leave from punitive timetabling or workload hikes. Parents’ groups, SEND campaigners and student organisations can be brought into the fight, linking the struggle for decent maternity rights to broader battles over funding, class sizes and retention. When school workers collectively refuse to sign away their rights in individual negotiations, and instead raise shared demands through branch meetings and regional strike committees, they make it harder for academy trusts and councils to play divide and rule.
Winning national change also means treating every local strike as a political lever, not just a workplace grievance. Staff can use picket lines as platforms to expose sexist and unequal policies, inviting local councillors and MPs to attend-and publicly commit to backing stronger rights in law. Unions can map where the worst maternity policies are, publish comparative data and launch public campaigns targeting the most hostile multi-academy trusts. Below is an example of how demands can be sharpened into clear bargaining points:
- Full maternity pay for at least six months for all school staff
- No loss of increments or progression while on leave
- Flexible return options guaranteed and non-punitive
- National minimum standards written into funding agreements
| Policy Area | Current Reality | Demanded Change |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity pay | Statutory minimum in many schools | Six months on full pay |
| Job security | Posts reshuffled during leave | Role guaranteed on return |
| Workload | Intensified on return | Phased and protected duties |
| National rules | Patchwork of trust policies | Single strong national standard |
Future Outlook
The action at South London’s Harris primary schools underlines a broader fault line running through Britain’s education system. As academies continue to expand, support staff – overwhelmingly women – are being asked to bear the cost through inferior contracts and eroded rights.
By walking out for proper maternity pay, these workers have put a spotlight on how “flexible” employment models translate into real losses for those who keep schools running.Their strike is not an isolated dispute but part of a growing pattern of resistance by education staff who are refusing to accept second-class conditions.
What happens next at Harris will be watched closely across the sector. If management is forced to retreat, it will strengthen the hand of workers in other chains and schools facing similar attacks.If it isn’t, it will only sharpen the argument that real change will require tackling the fragmented, market-driven framework that allows such practices to flourish.
For now, the South London school strikers have made one thing clear: they will not quietly absorb cuts to basic rights such as maternity pay. Their stand poses a question not just for the Harris Federation, but for the entire school system – whose side is it on when it comes to the people who educate and care for children every day?
