A QUARTER of school support staff in the North-West regularly go home every day worried about pupils’ welfare, safety and emotional state, a union survey has revealed.
The research by UNISON discovered that 88 per cent of such workers (including teaching assistants and learning mentors) had left work at least once worried about pupils after talking to them.
Issues of concern flagged up in a survey of more than 400 union members included grooming, sexual abuse, bullying, parents splitting up, family bereavement, self-harm, misuse of alcohol or drugs at home, and having a parent in prison.
UNISON head of education Jon Richards said: “School support staff are true stars in our schools. They do a lot more than they get the credit for. They support children through the toughest of times."
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