Teachers’ pay ‘going backwards in real terms’, OECD suggests

The OECD’s Education at a Glance 2015 report found that primary teachers in England earn 75 per cent of what similarly educated professionals can expect, while secondary teachers are paid 82 per cent compared to similarly educated contemporaries.

Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the OECD, said: “You can see England and Scotland going backwards in real terms, when you look at salary between 2005 and 2013.

“In the case of Scotland and England, teachers have paid quite a price. You can see, between 2005 and 2008, everybody got better paid. Then came the financial crisis and until 2012 there has been a steep fall in the relative pay of teachers."

The report also found that teachers are working longer hours with bigger classes than in most other developed countries. Between 2010 and 2013 the OECD claims that, on average, teachers’ pay has increased in developed countries, while in England it has decreased by 10 per cent in real terms. This is largely due to poor starting salaries, however, the report did find that after 10 years experience teachers in England do earn more than average compared to other developed countries.

This means that while still not comparable to salaries from other professions, teachers in England do ultimately progress to earn more than in other developed countries.

Schleicher said: “If you look at this in absolute terms, when you compare teachers' starting salaries, they are clearly not attractive in England.

“What the UK does well, in our judgement, is it has quite a flexible pay scale with lots of incentive and benefits. If you add all of that up, teachers in the UK – compared to teachers in other countries, not relative to workers with similar qualifications – come out better.”

John Bangs, senior consultant at Education International, said: “Basically, the OECD is ringing alarm bells that declining teachers’ pay is going to undermine educational quality. Teachers’ pay is not similar in many OECD countries with other comparable professions and potential teachers are going elsewhere.”

Read more