Twigg attacked over classroom assistants’ pay
Stephen Twigg received a shock at a teachers’ conference in Bournemouth this week.
The schools minister came face-to-face with Robin Bevan, whose wife Marion earns just £5.70 an hour for her work with children at Chalkwell Hall Infant School in Southend, Essex.
In front of the assembled press corps, Mr Bevan demanded to know why Ms Bevan was paid less than a Tesco checkout assistant for her post as classroom assistant.
“Do something about it – no, seriously, do something about it,” Mr Bevan demanded of an uncomfortable Mr Twigg.
Mr Bevan, 37, a deputy head of an Essex grammar school, accused Mr Twigg of failing to recognise the value of classroom assistants and urged him to improve their pay and conditions.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Mr Bevan revealed that his wife had beaten Mr Twigg in a sixth-form mock election at Southgate Comprehensive School in 1983.
“Which of the two of you has done more of value to contribute to the successful education of young people in this country, and when are you going to ensure that terms and conditions of employment for classroom assistants adequately reflect the value of their work?,” he asked the minister.
Mr Twigg promised he would “take that back” with him and added: “We have to learn from the best examples of local policy so that teaching assistants get the pay they deserve.”
Mr Bevan later said that his wife, who has a degree in social science and a post-graduate certificate in child development, was only paid for the time she worked during terms and added that she was “pretty angry” for assistants who were the sole breadwinners in their families.
Mr Twigg, who earns £84,483 as a minister, famously took the Enfield Southgate seat in north London from Michael Portillo in the 1997 general election.
