Today, the government offered a 6.5% pay rise for teachers for September, implementing the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Pay Review Body (STRB).
There will be additional funding given to schools to cover 3% of this, amounting to £900m in the 2024-25 financial year. This money will come from ‘reprioritising within the DfE’s existing budget’, but ‘frontline services’ will be protected; it will be delivered in the form of a grant for schools. More information on the amount of funding each school will receive is available on the DfE website.
The remaining 3.5% of the funding is to come from schools’ budgets, which the DfE increased following extra funding announced in last year’s autumn statement.
Union response
The National Education Union (NEU) is balloting its members on this latest government offer, but is recommending teachers accept this following the STRB recommendation. It says ‘A 6.5 per cent increase for teachers and school leaders recognises the vital role that teachers play in our country and ensures that teaching will continue to be an attractive profession.’ Strikes currently planned for the autumn will be called off if teachers follow the recommendation.
The NEU has announced it will listen to feedback on the topic via an electronic ballot which will run from 18-28 July and be sent via email and text message to its members.
The joint general secretaries of the NEU say: ‘There is still much more to do to ensure that teachers are properly rewarded, workload reduced, and schools properly funded. Should the offer be accepted by members, the NEU will continue campaigning and negotiating with the DfE to ensure improved working conditions for teachers and an improved education system for children and young people.’
Affordability
The affordability of the pay rise is based on averages, which do not take into account the financial situation of some schools. To tackle this, the government has announced it is setting up a £40 million ‘hardship fund’, with more details to follow.
In a statement, education secretary Gillian Keegan says that the funding for this deal ‘will not mean that no school will face financial challenges’. Unions and the government are calling the deal ‘properly funded’ rather than ‘fully funded’.
