Today, the government has today made an offer of 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 the rise, amounting to £900m in the 2024-25 financial year. This money will come from ‘reprioritising within the DfE’s existing budget’ to deliver this, but ‘frontline services’ will be protected from cuts; 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 will be coming from schools’ budgets. The DfE believes schools can afford this because of the extra funding announced in last year’s autumn statement.
Affordability
The affordability of the pay rise is based on averages, which does not take into account the financial situations faced by some schools. To tackle this, the government has also today announced it is setting up a £40 million ‘hardship fund’, although little has been released about this so far.
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’.
The response from unions
Unions are recommending that their members accept the deal, stating that they will ‘allow teachers and school leaders to call off strike action and resume normal relations with the government’.
In support of the deal, the National Education Union (NEU) 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.’
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.’