Recommended 5.5% pay award for teachers accepted

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that school teachers and leaders will receive a 5.5 per cent pay award, meaning the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) have been accepted in full.

Schools will receive almost £1.2 billion in additional funding to cover their costs in financial year 2024-25 at a national level.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Teachers lay the foundations of children’s lives. An investment in them is an investment in the next generation, and this government is determined to make sure every child - whatever their background - has the opportunity to succeed."

The award will apply from 1 September and is equivalent to an increase of over £2,500 for the average teacher, which would take the median salary for 2024 to 2025 to over £49,000.

The pay award applies to maintained schools, with academies continuing to have freedom over their pay and conditions.

Alongside the pay award, the requirement for schools to use the performance related pay (PRP) system – which can lead to schools and teachers going through an overly bureaucratic process to agree individual teachers’ pay rises – will be removed from September.

Responding to the announcement, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: “Leaders and teachers will welcome today’s above-inflation pay offer - it is another clear sign that the new government is serious about resetting the relationship with the profession.

"While pay remains below 2010 levels in real-terms, a 5.5% uplift is a significant step on the journey towards pay restoration, which we have long called for. We are currently in the midst of the worst recruitment and retention crisis in living memory – in part because under the last government the pay of leaders and teachers was cut by 20% in real terms. Teaching needs to once again be a sought-after, competitive career, and pay is an important part of that picture.

“We are particularly pleased the chancellor has pledged additional funding for this deserved pay rise, which is crucial at a time when many school budgets are stretched. It is also positive to see that the government has considered the impact of support staff pay awards when allocating additional funding."

Whiteman added that some schools will still require additional support: "As the government has acknowledged, schools will feel the impact of this uplift differently depending on their unique circumstances and it will be important that those already under the most significant financial pressures, such as special educational needs schools, small schools and alternative provision, get extra support where necessary."