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 鈥渋n full鈥� the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) last week. The accompanying STRB report called for 鈥渋ncreases to teachers鈥� pay of 5.5 per cent at all grades. In addition, a 5.5 per cent increase to all allowance ranges鈥�. This equates to an increase of more than 拢2,500 for the average teacher, taking the median salary for 2024-25 to over 拢49,000, government analysis stated. Kebede Daniel Kebede, NEU general secretary, said: 鈥淲e 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 拢1.65 billion over a whole school year. Schools will receive 鈥渁lmost 拢1.2 billion in additional funding to cover their costs鈥� in the 2024-25 financial year, the DfE has said. The department said it would 鈥渇ully fund鈥� 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 拢600 million of 鈥渉eadroom鈥� 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.聽
Rachel 6 August 2024 With all the talk about teacher pay rises, recruitment and retention, there seems to be an issue that is going largely unnoticed. With schools having had to foot the bill for a large portion of the last pay rise, there are experienced (expensive) teachers who are finding it difficult to find work and being forced out of the profession because schools simply cannot afford to employ them and are instead choosing to give jobs to moe newly qualified teachers that cost a lot less. At the age of 52, after 28 years of teaching, I have found it impossible to find a new job and will be supply teaching from September on a rate not much more than half my previous salary. I have spoken to many other experienced teachers who have had similar – or worse – experiences, some of them being forced out in ‘capabilities’ procedures and then replaced with much younger, much less experienced and significantly cheaper teachers. Do I sound cynical? The recent pay award just makes me feel like the possibility of ever securing another teaching position in the popular area of the cou try in which I live, has just moved a step further away…