National Education Union (NEU) teachers have voted overwhelmingly to accept this year鈥檚 teacher pay award of 5.5 per cent. In a snap poll of serving teacher members in England鈥檚 state schools run between September 21 and 30, 95 per cent voted in favour of accepting the offer on a turnout of 41 per cent. The new government announced in July that it was accepting the recommendations of the School Teachers鈥� Review Body in full, and that schools would receive 拢1.2 billion to fund the increase. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said: “Our members should be proud of what they have achieved through a hard-fought campaign. 鈥淭hey have accepted this year’s pay deal, but the government should be in no doubt that we see it as just a first step in the major pay correction needed.鈥� But he warned that 鈥渨ithout a major pay correction to restore the competitiveness of teacher pay, the desire to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis promised by today鈥檚 government remit letter to the School Teachers鈥� Review Body will come up short鈥�. The Institute for Fiscal Studies that teacher pay is about 6 per cent lower in real-terms than in 2010. It was even lower than that before the unions won a 6.5 per cent pay rise last year. “The pay increases are in the interests of pupils and parents too,鈥� said Kebede. 鈥淭eacher shortages and high class-sizes damage education. Support staff, further education and sixth form college teachers also need solutions to long-standing problems in pay.鈥� He called on the government to 鈥渕ake a commitment to repairing the damage done to teacher pay under the Conservatives鈥�. 鈥淭his must be done in negotiations with the teacher unions. Reversing pay cuts, alongside tackling sky-high workload, is essential to ensuring that we properly value, recruit and retain teachers.”
Pat Heath 2 October 2024 Well done for the progress. 100% agree. The profession needs resuscitation to survive. After 24 years I鈥檝e moved abroad as has my husband to teach. The expat teaching community is full of young teachers, having left uk within 1-5 years of qualification. My own child missed out on grades this year due to 鈥榳ell, i had a cover supervisor for most lessons鈥�. Looking closely to see how labour do and whether teaching in uk is ever to become viable and valued again.
Pat Heath 2 October 2024 Well done for the progress. 100% agree. The profession needs resuscitation to survive. After 24 years I鈥檝e moved abroad as has my husband to teach. The expat teaching community is full of young teachers, having left uk within 1-5 years of qualification. My own child missed out on grades this year due to 鈥榳ell, i had a cover supervisor for most lessons鈥�. Looking closely to see how labour do and whether teaching in uk is ever to become viable and valued again.
View from the trenches 2 October 2024 Good that we have a government and Education Secretary that, at last, is beginning to recognise the severity of the crisis in the retention of experienced education staff (and junior staff, staff working in schools in general for that matter!)…. …but 5.5% really? ?Regardless of various union positions on this (NEU voted to accept) does anybody really believe this is going to be enough to hold the flood gates shut on staff choosing to flee the sector THIS academic year? I’m sorry to say but I fear this is too little too late. The days of teaching surviving on good will and altruism are OVER. Without further RAPID increases combined with a new offering for teachers including work flexibility and vastly VASTLY improved working conditions together with a national conversation producing answers regarding the collapse in behaviour and standards amongst many cohorts and year groups of primary and secondary children this job will continue to be a fast route to a mental breakdown. Everybody in this job knows it and is broadcasting it loud and clear to all who will listen. No more excuses for government not to act fast, either education is an important priority or its not. The job has become impossible and TOXIC in many respects and should absolutely carry a HEALTH WARNING. This country’s best secret asset was its teachers and look at whats happening….all going abroad for better pay and conditions…..Government are you listening? Its not rocket science. Yes we are impatient, because 14 years of utter madness has just about killed off teaching in state schools as a sustainable career. This really is the last chance saloon. The following must happen with absolute urgency and WITHOUT DELAY to prevent the very real possibility of a collapse in staffing of state education: Replace OFSTED with an entirely different body with an entirely different remit. End the school data chasing madness (linked to the above) Bring schools back into LOCAL AUTHORITY control, yes that means admitting the New Labour/Tory academy experiment has been an abysmal failure so that funding can be transparent once again. Maximum teacher WORKING WEEK OF 38 HOURS, with no more than four hours per day class contact time. All MOCK EXAMS TO BE MARKED EXTERNALLY(relieving teachers of this burdensome duty) Improve PAY for experienced teachers who wish to remain in the classroom, a new category of “Senior Teacher” with corrresponding pay uplift after 10 years WITHOUT LUDICROUS DEMANDS/CATCHES. A PAY REVIEW BODY tasked to urgently determine a new competitive pay spine and uplift ALL pay grades and for government to act on this. More SPECIAL SCHOOLS to be built for SEND children More ALTERNATIVE PROVISION to be built for the most disruptive young people staffed by experienced practitioners reflected in pay. Curriculum review to make education…….relevant and FUN again. Children have switched off and are causing mayhem in classrooms because the curriculum is not fit for purpose. Time is running out for the fixes and answers.