Commenting on the teacher pay deal announced this morning by
Government, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
"The government has presented teachers with a curate’s egg in
today’s announcement. Raising starting salaries by 5.5% should
make the profession more attractive to graduates. But the
prospect of salaries tapering off as they progress through the
profession means that progress made in recruiting teachers will
not be sustained in retaining them.
"More experienced teachers and leaders must see their immense
hard work and efforts rewarded fairly, and this pay award does
not do that. The NEU asked for a 7% pay rise for all teachers.
This award does not achieve this entirely reasonable ambition. It
is already the case that 22% of teachers leave teaching within 2
years. This is an awful waste which impacts most directly on
disadvantaged children who most need teachers. We will not begin
to close the attainment gap until we keep teachers in the
profession.
"Without full funding by the Government, for many teachers the
pay increases announced in previous years have existed only in
theory. The dismantling of the national pay structure, imposition
of PRP and real-terms funding cuts have resulted in many teachers
not getting the cost-of-living increases announced in previous
years. NEU called for a fully-funded 7% increase in September and
we reiterate this call."
