Teaching assistants are carrying out higher level responsibilities without HLTA posts or rewards, says a report from the trade union Unison.
More than one in three TAs said their job included HLTA duties, but only 6% had even part-time HLTA status.
"There is strong evidence that schools are not appointing HLTAs when they could or perhaps should, and are relying on other support staff to carry out this kind of higher level work
"Some members of the school support staff workforce are therefore paying the price for remodelling in lower salaries", says the report.
The survey was based on evidence from more than 1000 members of Unison, and the managers of 200 schools.
Two thirds of the support staff in the survey said their job content had changed as a result of school workforce remodelling. One in ten said they were doing teaching duties - teaching whole classes, setting work for supply teachers, monitoring children's work and marking for part of the time.
There was a "worrying blurring" of the roles of covering for a teacher during an unplanned absence, and time-tabled teaching by someone in an HLTA role, says the report.
About four out of ten have received some sort of pay increase as a result of the changes in their work. Split contracts are common - just under half the schools in the study said they used them. But pay levels for staff on split contracts were lower than average. "This could be seen as remodelling on the cheap," says the survey.
Two thirds of schools were using term time only contracts, ranging from 38 to 44 weeks. Often different support staff in the same school had different arrangements.
More than two thirds of staff were "regularly" or "quite often" working on the school premises outside normal school hours, either catching up with general duties or doing distinct out of hours work such as breakfast clubs or extended schools. But only 15% said they were getting extra money for out of hours work, with most relying on Time Off In Lieu (TOIL).
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis said: "Support staff are increasingly demonstrating their skills and value and are considered part of the education team in most schools.
"The survey shows their increased responsibilities are better rewarded in many schools but there is still much to do."
School remodelling - the impact on support staff Unison 2007
See also Unison's updated School Remodelling: a Unison survival guide
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