Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve working conditions for parents working in primary and secondary education settings.

The department is taking a range of steps to improve working conditions for parents working in schools.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). This will be a new statutory body with a remit to negotiate pay, terms and conditions, and advise on training and career progression for school support staff.

We have committed to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From the academic year 2027/28, schoolteachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay doubled from four weeks to eight weeks. We will also enable the SSSNB to prioritise maternity pay in its first year of operation to negotiate an equivalent improvement for support staff.

Wider government reforms which will also apply to schools over time, include the introduction of new requirements on pay gap reporting and workforce action plans, alongside changes to flexible working. We are also developing a new workforce retention programme to launch this autumn to reduce workload, improve wellbeing and diversity and increase availability of flexible working.