Marvin OnumonuTeachers in England are set for a 4% pay rise from September after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson accepted the full recommendation of the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).
The pay boost follows last year’s 5.5% rise and aims to help deliver 6,500 more teachers by the end of this Parliament.
Schools will be expected to cover the first 1% of the pay rise through improved productivity and smarter spending, with the Government providing £615m in extra funding.
To help pay for the increase, the Government has ended tax breaks for private schools and cut programmes seen as poor value for money.
Digital capability work is set to continue to drive efficiency and ensure funding supports high standards in schools.
The pay award forms part of the Government’s plan to raise standards for every child.
This includes changes to Ofsted inspections, regional improvement teams for underperforming schools and a new curriculum.
Colleges and 16 to 19 education providers will also get £160m to help recruit and keep teachers in key subjects like construction and manufacturing, to support skills needed by employers.
Phillipson said: “Teachers have been overstretched and undervalued for far too long but from my first day in office, I have made it my priority to back them so that teaching is restored as the highly valued profession it should be.
“This pay award for schools backed by major investment alongside funding for further education is in recognition of the crucial role teachers play in breaking the link between background and success and will support schools and colleges to invest in the workforce they need, so every young person achieves and thrives.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are already seeing green shoots, with two thousand more secondary school teachers training this year than last and more teachers forecasted to stay in the profession.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It is testament to the strength of feeling in the profession that the government have moved from their initial recommendation of a 2.8% pay rise to the 4% announced today.
“Whilst we acknowledge and welcome additional funding to that initially offered by the government, it is still the case that the pay award is not fully funded.
“In many schools this will mean cuts in service provision to children and young people, job losses, and additional workloads for an already overstretched profession.”
Kebede added: “The NEU will never accept cuts to education. Children deserve a fully-resourced education and the government should see education as an investment in the country’s future not a cost.
“Whilst teachers and school leaders know there are no ‘efficiencies’ to be made at a school level there is wastage at a system level resulting from the fragmentation to the education system caused by academisation.
“We will press the government to tackle these system level issues starting with capping CEO pay, introducing national energy contracts for schools, and ending the supply agency rip off.”
He said: “Unless the government commits to fully funding the pay rise then it is likely that the NEU will register a dispute with the government on the issue of funding, and campaign to ensure every parent understands the impact of a cut in the money available to schools, and that every politician understands this too.
“We welcome steps outlined today around flexible working and TLRs.
“Teaching is a profession made up of 76 per cent women and it is right that issues that most impact upon women are addressed as a matter of urgency.”
