Commenting on the publication last night of Gillian Keegan’s
remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body
(STRB) in England, Daniel Kebede, General
Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"Gillian Keegan’s remit letter to the STRB has finally been
issued, over a month later than last year’s remit letter and at
the very end of the school term. This is despite her commitment,
made when settling our pay dispute in the summer, to align the
timing of the STRB process with the school budget cycle. The
Government has once again shown its contempt for the
profession.
"Not only is the remit letter late, but it is also completely
inadequate. The Government is again attempting to constrain
the STRB by forcing it to work within the existing inadequate
funding envelope. It is clear that the Government is gearing
up for a paltry 1-2% teacher pay award next year. The Autumn
Statement ignored the joint call from the NEU, ASCL, NAHT and
NASUWT for a funding increase of at least £1.7 billion in
2024-25. (1) Without significant additional investment in
education, the recruitment and retention crisis will not be
tackled and teachers will not be properly valued.
"Since 2010, the real value of teacher pay against RPI
inflation has been cut by some 25%. The relative value of
teacher pay in the wider economy has also been
cut, with average teacher pay increases between 2010-11 and
2022-23 of just 16% compared to a 39% increase for average
earnings as a whole. (2) We will not recruit and
retain the teachers and school leaders we need unless we
properly value them. The focus of the STRB’s remit should be
on repairing the damage to teacher living standards and the
competitiveness of teacher pay. An urgent, properly
funded and major correction in teacher pay should be the
centrepiece of the STRB’s remit. Yet the key issue of
repairing the damage to teacher pay and living standards does not
feature at all in Gillian Keegan’s remit letter.
"The inclusion in the remit of a so-called ‘targeted’ approach to
pay is a matter of great concern. ‘Targeted’ pay approaches
ignore the need for a correction in teacher pay applied across
the board, to reflect the system-wide recruitment and retention
problems shown by the failure to recruit to target in 15 out of
18 secondary subjects. ‘Targeted’ approaches to pay will not
solve the teacher shortages that exist across the curriculum and
will make retention problems worse by angering those teachers who
do not benefit. The dismantling of national pay arrangements
has already resulted in less fairness and transparency,
contributing to the damaged position of teaching in the graduate
labour market. To support recruitment and retention we need a
fair, transparent national pay structure with a clear and
significant pay correction for all teachers and school leaders,
not further tinkering and complications.
“There are opportunities from projected falls in pupil numbers to
enhance the quality of education and support children receive, as
well as for teacher workload and wellbeing. Government and STRB
should absolutely not conclude this context means pay can be
held down even longer and the size of the workforce can be
shrunk.
"The inadequacy of the review body process has been laid bare.
The NEU will continue to ensure that the voice of teachers and
school leaders is heard loud and clear – and that voice will
not be gagged by Government proposals to restrict our members’
right to strike. We will continue to make the evidence-based case
for the properly funded pay correction needed to ensure that
teachers are paid fairly. Better pay for teachers is
essential to solving the recruitment and retention crisis, so our
campaign for fair pay for teachers is also in the interests of
parents and young people.”
Editor’s Note
1) https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/joint-union-call-significant-increase-school-funding
2) https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/policy-options-for-a-long-term-teacher-pay-and-financial-incentives-strategy/
