The National Education Union’s executive has recommended that its members accept the government’s offer of a 5.5 per cent pay rise for teachers and leaders.
NEU chiefs today voted to recommend that members agree to the offer, ahead of a snap poll between September 21 and 30.
It comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves accepted “in full” the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) last week.
The accompanying STRB report called for “increases to teachers’ pay of 5.5 per cent at all grades. In addition, a 5.5 per cent increase to all allowance ranges”.
This equates to an increase of more than £2,500 for the average teacher, taking the median salary for 2024-25 to over £49,000, government analysis stated.
Daniel Kebede, NEU general secretary, said: “We believe this is a significant first – but not last – step towards a long-term correction in teacher pay, secured as a direct consequence of members’ strike action in 2023 and their positive indicative ballot this March.”
But he stressed “more needs to be done to remedy teacher pay, workload and the recruitment and retention crisis” and warned ministers should “be under no illusion that a single pay deal is an end to the matter”.
The STRB estimated its recommendations would cost some £1.65 billion over a whole school year.
Schools will receive “almost £1.2 billion in additional funding to cover their costs” in the 2024-25 financial year, the DfE has said.
The department said it would “fully fund” both the rise for teachers and leaders announced last week and a proposed increase for support staff.
But Schools Week understands schools will also be expected to use £600 million of “headroom” in their budgets identified by the previous government earlier this year.
The 5.5 per cent award will apply from September 1 and applies to maintained schools, academies have more autonomy over pay but can choose to implement it.
The previous government delayed publishing a response to the STRB’s recommendations to teacher pay until after the election.
Ministers accepted a recommendation of a 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers for 2023-24, but schools were expected to fund 3.5 per cent of the rise from their own budgets.
