Commenting as NAHT, alongside other education unions, submits its
evidence on teacher and school leader pay to the School Teachers'
Review Body (STRB) consultation, which closes at 10am today (Tues
14th Sept ), Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT,
the largest union for school leaders, said:
“School leaders and teachers will be rightly angry that the
government’s pay freeze will deliver yet another a real terms pay
cut next year, based on the Treasury’s own predictions of
inflation, and given how national insurance, energy costs and
retail prices are rising across the economy. A slap in the face
doesn’t begin to describe it.
“The teaching profession has long struggled to recruit and retain
school leaders – NAHT’s survey evidence shows that the leadership
pipeline is broken at all career stages. Too few experienced
teachers want to step up to senior leadership positions and even
fewer can be persuaded to take on the heavy responsibilities of a
head teacher.
“This pay cut risks further eroding leadership supply, and risks
prompting an exodus of leaders when the pandemic finally lifts.
“Government has repeatedly constrained the Review Body’s work –
this must end. The STRB must be able to do its work, free from
government interference. The STRB understand the teaching
workforce supply issues and once again this year asked government
to allow it to review the pay structure for teachers and leaders,
but was denied.
“We urgently need government to take the STRB’s warnings
seriously and to act on them, to support the retention of
experienced teachers and leaders, and to resolve the leadership
supply crisis.”
