A headteachers’ leaders has warned that the wait for the Government to announce a decision over a pay rise for teachers has become a joke with the summer holidays now just days away.
Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the situation meant schools were having to make budget decisions for the next academic year without knowing what the consequences would be.
The Schools Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) is expected to recommend a pay rise but there is major uncertainty about how much of this will be funded by the Treasury, the Department for Education or schools themselves.
It is now rumoured that the announcement might not be made before schools break up for the summer holidays.
Tes understands that the process has been held up because much of Whitehall has been brought to a standstill by Brexit.
Barton said: “There are so many rumours swirling around all the time about when this is going to be announced that it is frustrating and has become a bit of a joke.
“Our members are expressing frustration that they are having to plan their budgets and make decisions without knowing what the consequences of those decisions will be.
“For a Government that talks about the importance of financial efficiency it is time for it to demonstrate more of that itself.”
Mr Barton also told Tes the frustration felt by school leaders and governors would be heightened if Parliament does vote to finish early for the summer.
“In the absence of any information from government whatsoever our notional advice to members has been to assume they will have to fund two per cent of the rise. But many schools tell us they cannot afford that.
“Very soon these become human decisions, which members of staff do we lose?”
Paul Whiteman general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) told Tes he hoped the delay meant the government was trying to find extra funding for schools.
He said: “It is a concern for school leaders that it has taken so long for the Government to publish the STRB report and its response to it because it creates a problem for school leaders who are trying to come up with their budget for the next academic year.
“We have always said that whatever the pay settlement is it has to be fully funded. We hope that the delay in the announcement means that the government is using the extra time productively.”
The expected teacher pay rise comes after the Government decided to lift the one per cent pay cap following seven years of pay restraint.
Last week the heads of ASCL, NAHT, the National Education Union, UCAC and Voice wrote a joint letter to Damian Hinds urging him to publish the STRB report on teachers’ pay and the Government’s response to it “as soon as possible.”
