A substantial multi-year pay award for all teachers and school
leaders in England is desperately needed in order to secure
educational recovery and address the growing cost of living
crisis.
The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union has today
submitted detailed evidence on the 2022/23 pay award to the
School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which makes recommendations
on teachers’ pay to the Secretary of State for Education.
The evidence sets out the case for pay award restoration
commencing September 2022, highlighting that due to successive
years of pay freezes and below inflation pay awards, teachers
have now suffered a 19% real-terms erosion in their pay since
2020. A multi-year pay award, starting with a 12% award from 2022
is being sought by the Union.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary,
said:
“Teachers are looking to the Review Body to assert its
independence from Government and act on the overwhelming evidence
of the adverse impact which over a decade of real terms pay
erosion is having on the recruitment and retention of teachers
and on the ability to maintain world-class standards of education
provision.
“Uncompetitive pay levels are contributing to a worsening picture
on teacher supply.
“The Government has continuously failed to meet its own targets
on ITT recruitment; there is a growing crisis of leadership
succession and increasing numbers of teachers leaving the
profession. Data shows that by 2020, over 40% of those who had
entered the teaching profession ten years previously were no
longer teaching.
“Our 2022 teachers’ pay survey indicates that 70% of teachers
have considered leaving their job in the last 12 months and that
49% of teachers indicated that their pay had a great deal or a
lot of impact on their intention to leave the profession.
“Adding to the pressure on teachers is the soaring cost of
living, which is driving more and more teachers into financial
hardship. Our survey shows that two thirds of teachers are
‘somewhat worried’ about their financial situation and 22% are
‘very worried’.
“Over half of teachers reported having to cut back their
expenditure on food during 2021, with some having to resort to
using food banks or other forms of charitable assistance. Four in
ten reported having to cut back their expenditure on essential
household items and 12% have taken a second job.
“We believe that the current challenges facing the profession are
so significant that the Government must look more broadly at
remuneration and implement structural reform of the teachers’ pay
framework in order to ensure it is fit for purpose in recruiting,
retaining and adequately rewarding current and future cohorts of
teachers.
“This must involve returning the entitlement to national pay
scales to teachers, including those undertaking supply work.
“It is now time for STRB and government to deliver a pay award
for teachers which restores competitiveness to the profession and
which reflects the critical nature of the work teachers do to
help build our society and foster economic prosperity for decades
to come.”
