The government has finally published the wording of its amendment to its own schools bill, which will require academies to observe minimum pay rates and have “regard” to other national conditions.
Ministers have also pledged to remove maximum pay rates for local authority maintained schools after the bill is passed.
Bridget Phillipson and her team have faced criticism over the original wording of the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which would have extended national pay and conditions – including pay scales – to academies.
Trusts that currently use their flexibilities to offer salaries above national rates had warned they would not be able to continue to do so if the law was enacted.
Schools minister Catherine McKinnell announced last Tuesday that the government would amend the bill to “create a floor with no ceiling”.
What the amendment says
The amendment would give the education secretary the power to issue an order “requiring the remuneration of an academy teacher to be at least equal to the amount specified in, or determined in accordance with, the order”.
This will apply to those providing “primary or secondary education under a contract of employment” with the proprietor of an academy or the principal of an academy, but not an executive leader of its trust.
Where a trust also runs a 16 to 19 academy, teachers will not be considered academy teachers “to the extent that a contract of employment or for services between [the teacher] and the proprietor requires [the teacher] to provide secondary education at the 16 to 19 academy”.
The amendment also states that “in determining the conditions of employment or service of an academy teacher, the relevant proprietor must have regard to any provision of an order…that relates to conditions of employment or service”.
Academies will need ‘good reason’ not to follow conditions
In a policy update, the Department for Education said the amendment “will allow the secretary of state to require academy schools and alternative provision academies to pay teachers at least a minimum level of remuneration set out in secondary legislation”.
“This will be set at the same level as applies to maintained schools, through the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) each time it is updated, creating a consistent floor on pay for all state schools.”
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The measure will also “require academy schools and alternative provision academies to have regard to the whole of the STPCD in determining the pay and conditions of their teachers”.
“This means they must follow it unless they have a good reason not to. This will ensure an established foundation for all schools, while giving confidence that existing or future changes which benefit teachers and pupils will be able to continue.”
The government added that it’s “our subsequent reforms to the STPCD, which will happen through secondary legislation using our existing powers, will remove the maximum of the pay bands for maintained schools and provide additional flexibilities to enable healthy competition and innovation.”
Neil O’Brien, the shadow education minister, said the opposition would “check if [the amendment] works”.
He said the Conservatives would now “push to get the same freedoms” for teachers in maintained schools and for support staff.