Strike action among staff at Bristol and North Somerset school trust
92% of staff affected voted to walk out in a ballot held by UNISON
Last updated 5th Nov 2025
Teaching assistants, administrators, librarians, finance officers, caretakers, and caterers at the Cathedral Schools Trust in BRistol and North Somerset are walking out today and tomorrow.
The strike follows a ballot among UNISON members, in which 92% of staff backed industrial action.
The union says workers have been missing out on hundreds of pounds every year because of what it's called a failure by the employer to implement annual pay awards when they are announced in April.
Instead, Cathedral Schools Trust has delayed payments until the start of the school term in September, leaving staff without several months’ worth of pay increases compared to colleagues in other schools, UNISON says.
Although the trust implemented the pay rise when it was due in April this year for the first time, in line with other schools, it doesn’t make up for the many years in which staff were underpaid, the union adds.
Staff are now demanding five years of back pay.
UNISON South West regional secretary Kerry Baigent said: “School support staff are the backbone of the education system. They support children’s learning and wellbeing every day.
“At long last, these workers have had a pay rise that’s been implemented on time, but that doesn’t undo the damage of the past. Staff have already lost thousands of pounds through delayed awards year after year.
“The trust must do the right thing and pay the money back, so staff get the reward and respect they deserve.”
Teaching assistant Stephen, who works at St Werburgh’s Primary School, said: “Without the vital contribution of staff such as teaching assistants, mentors and office teams, schools in the trust simply couldn’t run.
“Their support is essential if children are to thrive. If the trust really values and respects the hard work and commitment of its staff, it must act now.”
A spokesperson for Cathedral Schools Trust said: “We highly value the essential roles of all our support staff, and the Board of Trustees was pleased to reach positive agreements on four of the five matters raised. We are therefore disappointed that strike action, which was balloted before these agreements were finalised, has still been called.
“To support colleagues, the trust has made significant financial commitments, but we must also protect school budgets to ensure we can continue delivering the high-quality education our young people deserve. Our focus now is on supporting our schools to minimise disruption and maintain the best possible learning experience for our pupils and families.”