School support staff should be recognised with a pay rise for “stopping schools falling down” during the coronavirus crisis, the chair of the Commons Education Select Committee has said.

As the Department for Education announced pay rises for teachers of up to 5.5 per cent this week, Robert Halfon said it was “absolutely vital” that a pay rise was also given to school support staff, including teaching assistants, school caretakers, and kitchen and admin staff.

He told Tes: “They often get forgotten about, but I see the work that they do and they should be strongly supported.

Praise: ‘Our TAs stopped the school closing in lockdown’

Read: Schools’ ‘invisible’ TAs need recognition not snobbery

Coronavirus: Safety fears as TAs ‘told to deep clean to save cash’

“They are often forgotten because people tend to talk, inevitably, about teachers, but perhaps we need to do more to recognise the contribution support staff make both in terms of [government] policymaking, wages and general recognition and thanks.

“Without them, schools would fall down. It’s absolutely vital they are recognised as well in terms of wage increases for the work they do.”

Unison, the public services union that represents many support staff, has described them as some of the lowest-paid members of the public sector, and says it hopes to agree a pay increase in August in negotiations through the National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services.