Fully funded 5.5% pay rise for teachers hailed important ‘first step’ by unions

A fully funded 5.5% uplift to the salaries of teachers and headteachers in England is an important “first step” in reversing real-terms pay cuts which school staff have faced, union leaders said.

The Government has accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) “in full” and teachers’ pay will increase by 5.5%.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the pay award is equivalent to an increase of more than £2,500 for the average teacher from September, which would take the median salary for 2024/25 to over £49,000.

In April, delegates at the National Education Union (NEU) annual conference voted to wait to hear what the pay offer would be before potentially moving to a formal ballot on strike action.

The NEU said it would have a “snap poll” in September to allow its members to judge whether the Government’s 2024/25 pay offer is acceptable or not.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, the largest education union in the UK, said: “A 5.5% pay award is a necessary first step in the reversal of the real-terms pay cuts inflicted upon teachers and school leaders during the Conservatives’ time in office.

“Clearly, there is still some way to go to restore what teachers and school leaders have lost since 2010 and we will expect this to be addressed in future pay rounds.

“This announcement is however a strong signal to the profession about a new course of direction in education.”

Mr Kebede said the NEU executive will meet next week to consider the offer and it will make a recommendation for its members to vote on in September.

Last year, NEU members staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England in a pay dispute.

Union bosses have been calling on the Government to urgently announce its pay offer for teachers in England so schools can plan their budgets for the next academic year.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: “Today’s above-inflation announcement is an important first step in restoring the competitiveness of teachers’ pay after the last 14 years of pay freezes, pay cuts and below-inflation awards that fuelled the teacher recruitment and retention crisis and left teachers’ pay in freefall in real terms year after year.

“Today’s announcement represents an important start in the process of repairing the damage of the last 14 years.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “Leaders and teachers will welcome today’s above-inflation pay offer – it is another clear sign that the new Government is serious about resetting the relationship with the profession.

“While pay remains below 2010 levels in real terms, a 5.5% uplift is a significant step on the journey towards pay restoration, which we have long called for.

“We are currently in the midst of the worst recruitment and retention crisis in living memory – in part because under the last government the pay of leaders and teachers was cut by 20% in real terms.”

He added: “We are particularly pleased the Chancellor has pledged additional funding for this deserved pay rise, which is crucial at a time when many school budgets are stretched.”

The teacher pay award for September was confirmed as schools across England have already closed for the summer holiday.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “We sincerely hope that the recent trend of teacher pay awards being resolved later and later in the academic year will now end.

He added that the union will be “examining the detail” to ensure the pay award will be affordable for all schools.

The Government also announced that the requirement for schools to use the performance related pay (PRP) system will be removed from September.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed to the Commons that the Government would scrap Rishi Sunak’s Advanced British Standard – a proposed qualification to eventually replace A-levels and T-levels.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The Chancellor has laid out a grim picture – our public finances are in a devastating state and tough choices need to be made to help rebuild the foundations of the economy.

“But while the impact teachers have on children and young people’s life chances can’t be measured in pounds and pence, those working in education must be in no doubt about their value.

“Teachers lay the foundations of children’s lives.

“An investment in them is an investment in the next generation, and this Government is determined to make sure every child – whatever their background – has the opportunity to succeed.”