Education secretary Damian Hinds has been criticised for ignoring a recommended pay rise for senior teachers and leaders.
Derbyshire teacher Denise Wells received strong applause at the NAHT’s conference today (see video at 1.19) as she took Mr Hinds to task over pay.
She said: “Last year, you went against the advice of your own pay review body by making lower pay awards for both teachers on the upper pay scale and school leaders.
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“What is the point of having the School Teachers’ Review Body if you are going to constrain their remit and ignore their findings?”
The STRB recommended a 3.5 per cent pay increase for all teachers.
The Department for Education decision was for those on the main pay scale to receive 3.5 per cent, while those on the upper ranges would get two per cent and leaders would receive 1.5 per cent.
Mr Hinds responded that he did not want to put more financial burden on schools.
He said: “I took the view that it was essential that we didn’t put more financial pressure onto schools. It was the end of the 1 per cent public-sector pay restraint and I thought it was necessary to be able to fund with the teachers’ pay grant - the £508m over two years.
“Look, I am not saying that is an easy answer or it’s one that is going to land well with everybody here, but that was the reality we faced at the time and we funded it with that additional money.”
NAHT member Keith Wright, from North Yorkshire, asked whether Mr Hinds would battle for more money for schools from the Treasury.
He asked: “Are you prepared to go toe to toe with the Chancellor in the Comprehensive Spending Review?”
Mr Hinds responded: “There is always tough negotiations in a Comprehensive Spending Review. There are always competing demands but I think that we have a particularly strong case. Education has a particularly special role because so much else depends on it. Everything from productivity, to social mobility to social cohesion. It is a special case and I will be making it strongly.”
