The next government must prioritise bringing teachers’ pay into line with comparable professions and fund schools accordingly, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has warned.
In a report published today, the EPI suggests how political parties should draw up their education manifesto pledges, based on current education challenges and the most effective policies.
“With a general election anticipated next year, there is a genuine risk that education will not secure the profile it requires given wider economic issues and demands on public services,” the report warns.
As well as improving teacher pay, the EPI wants politicians to focus on narrowing the disadvantage gap.
Natalie Perera, CEO of the EPI, said: “The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is at its widest in a decade and, combined with a shortage of teachers across the country and increasing funding pressures, there is a burning need for education to be at the forefront of manifestos.”
The report calls for a new government to ensure teaching is a competitive career, particularly in shortage subjects, partly by extending the levelling up premium to all teachers and reinstating early career payments to retain new teachers in shortage subjects.
It quotes evidence showing that there have been real-terms cuts in teacher salaries since 2010, with pay for more experienced and senior teachers falling by 13 per cent in real-terms since 2010 and starting salaries falling by 5 per cent.
The relative protection for early career teachers reflects the government’s decision to increase starting salaries to £30,000.
The report says the median pay of a school teacher is now around £41,500.
“In comparison to other OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] nations, England was near the bottom of the table for pay growth over the decade from 2010,” it says, adding: “In some countries, teacher’s real pay rose by over 30 per cent during that decade but, in England, it fell.”
“Teacher pay has become less competitive, and particularly so in shortage subjects,” the authors say.
Teacher retention could be improved, they recommend, by focussing on wellbeing - for example by considering the role of the school accountability framework, teacher workload and flexible working.
The benefits of high-quality CPD should also be recognised, they suggest.
The report also calls for an increase in per-pupil funding. This could partly be achieved through the expected fall in pupil numbers and increased capital expenditure, it says.
Funding should also be targeted to close the disadvantage gap and extended to vulnerable groups, the report recommends. For example, by raising the rate of the pupil premium to at least its pre-2021 level in real terms, and by considering extra funding for persistently disadvantaged pupils.
The report also makes a series of recommendations on clarifying the role of local authorities “within the now predominantly academised school system” and ensuring capital expenditure is sufficient to maintain and improve the school and college estate.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he hoped that politicians across the spectrum would support the EPI proposals.
He said: “We are in the midst of a recruitment and retention crisis, which is so severe that it is increasingly difficult to put qualified teachers in front of classes.
“The three measures put forward by the EPI are the keys to addressing this problem. It is vital to make teacher salaries more competitive, reduce workload and invest in CPD.”
The shift towards more hybrid working in other professions, and the difficulties of offering that to teachers, made it ”even more important to make sure that teaching is made as attractive as possible”, he said.
The Department for Education has been approached for comment.
