Commenting on the Department for Education’s response to the STRB
report on teacher pay, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“The refusal of the Government to fully fund this inadequate pay
increase for teachers sends out a devastating message to teachers
and parents. The Government expects schools to find the missing
money from resources that are already scarce following the
real-terms cuts to school funding.
“Teachers and parents will be disappointed that the Government is
not even providing the funding for the inadequate pay increase
recommended by the STRB. Despite the need for additional
investment in schools and in teacher pay, the Government is
effectively loading further costs of £280 million onto schools.
Last year the DfE funded everything above 1%, and this year they
are expecting schools to find the first 2% of the 2.75% pay rise,
with the remainder coming from as yet unspecified pre-existing
DfE budgets. This means more cuts.
“The STRB report confirms that the teacher recruitment and
retention problems have continued to deteriorate and links these
problems clearly to the steady decline in the competitiveness of
teacher pay, but the recommended 2.75% teacher pay increase is
below RPI inflation and average earnings across the wider
economy. The Government will only solve teacher recruitment and
retention problems when it reverses the real-terms cuts to
teacher pay and restores the competitiveness of teacher pay. Its
failure to even begin that process means that the profession will
continue to struggle to attract and retain the teachers we need
at a time of growing pupil numbers. The NEU will continue to
campaign for the improvements in teacher pay that are needed to
solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
“The Government has ignored the overwhelming evidence that cuts
to teacher pay are contributing to a major recruitment and
retention crisis. That crisis affects teachers and the children
they educate.
“The new Prime Minister needs to act on this immediately. The NEU
called for a fully funded increase of 5% as the starting point
for the restoration of the real-terms cuts to teacher pay. The
NEU and its members will continue to campaign for the pay our
teachers deserve.”
