Education secretary Damian Hinds is seeking advice on the level of pay rise needed for teachers in order “to promote recruitment and retention”.
In a letter sent today to Dr Patricia Rice, chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), about the next pay deal due for 2019-20, Mr Hinds asks for “an assessment of what adjustments should be made to the salary and allowance ranges for classroom teachers, unqualified teachers and school leaders”.
But he asks the STRB to “give careful consideration to whether recommendations are affordable across the school system as a whole”.
The STRB, an independent advisory body, this year recommended a 3.5 per cent pay rise for teaching staff on all pay scales. It also expressed concern in its latest report about the position of teachers in the graduate labour market, stating that “teachers’ pay had continued to lag behind the average for other graduate professions”.
However, the government sparked anger among unions when, for the first time in 23 years, it ignored the recommendation and awarded the pay rise only to teachers on the main pay scale, while those on the upper pay rate and leadership teachers received 2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.
Headteacher Richard Sheriff, who is president of the Association of School and College Leaders, questioned Mr Hinds’ use of the word “affordable” in the letter.
He said: “At the moment, it would seem no pay rise is affordable, and there are a lot of schools already struggling to meet this year’s pay rise. Any future pay rise would need to by fully funded by the government.
“An extra 47,000 teachers are needed over the next five years to meet the [expected] pupil increase in our schools - so can our country ‘afford’ not to invest in its education system?”
Mr Sheriff said Mr Hinds had referred to teacher pay as “a cost”, but argued that it should instead be considered “an investment”, adding: “We’re talking about our future as a nation. There is a crisis if we can’t recruit and retain high-quality teachers.”
Mr Hinds said in statement to the press this afternoon: “It is important schools are able to recruit, retain and fairly reward the teachers they need. We recently boosted budgets by £508 million over two years to give hardworking teachers a pay increase, and have given schools freedom over staff pay so they can reward the most experienced teachers and attract the brightest and best.
“To ensure that continues, I have now asked the independent School Teachers’ Review Body to consider a range of evidence - including affordability - and provide its recommendations on teacher pay for the coming year.”
His letter can be viewed here.
