It is “particularly important” for next year’s teacher pay award to take into account the government’s inflation target, the education secretary has said.
Writing to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), Gillian Keegan also said that any recommendations for the 2023-24 pay award should have regard for the cost pressures that schools are facing.
Pay proposals must not be too “difficult” or “onerous” for schools, Ms Keegan added.
The STRB makes recommendations on the pay, duties and working time of school teachers in England, but reports to the education secretary and prime minister.
Each year the education secretary writes to the STRB asking for recommendations on teacher pay and conditions for next year, with this letter asking for the body to come back with a report in May.
In a letter to the STRB chair, Mike Aldred, published today and sent yesterday, Ms Keegan wrote: “In the current economic context, it is particularly important that you have regard to the government’s inflation target when forming recommendations.
“I know that schools are facing higher and sometimes unpredictable costs, and that these costs affect individual schools differently.
“I write to ask the STRB to carefully evaluate the department’s evidence on what it considers a fair pay award for teachers, while recognising the impact pay rises will have on schools’ overall budgets.”
Threat of strikes over teacher pay
The government sets the Bank of England a target to keep inflation at 2 per cent, but it currently sits at above 11 per cent.
Ms Keegan also asked the STRB for an “assessment” of the adjustments that should be made to the salaries of teachers and school leaders in 2023-24, and said this should promote “recruitment and retention” while taking into account the government’s commitment to raise starting salaries to £30,000, “as well as the cost pressures facing both the school system as a whole and individual schools”.
The letter also invited the STRB to give its views on areas within its scope that “would most benefit from future exploration” to support the aim of providing a “coherent and fulfilling career path for teachers and leaders”.
Commenting on the letter, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The education secretary advises the pay review body to recognise the impact pay rises will have on school budgets in its recommendation for next year’s pay award.
“This strongly suggests that the government has no intention of providing any additional funding to enable schools to pay the award to their staff - just as it has failed to provide this vital funding for this year’s pay award.”
Schools “simply cannot afford the cost of unfunded pay awards and they will be driven further into the red unless the government provides the necessary funding”, he added.
It was “absolute madness” to expect schools to meet these costs out of “diminishing budgets”, Mr Barton said, warning that this “will inevitably lead to more cuts in educational provision”.
Experienced teachers have been offered a 5 per cent pay rise for 2022-23, and there is the prospect of industrial action in the new year.
The NEU teaching union is balloting teachers in schools over pay, while the NASUWT and NAHT unions are currently balloting members over industrial action, including strike action.
Last week it was revealed that the Association of School and College Leaders is planning a “consultative ballot” on industrial action.
