Conservatives sound the alarm over Labour’s plans to cut teachers' pay and drive down standards

Today, [Friday 20 December 2024] the Conservatives are sounding the alarm about the damages Labour's latest educational reforms will do – including cuts to teachers'pay and measures that will drive down standards. 

This week Labour introduced their Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This legislation included a number of changes, including sweeping reforms to academies.  

One such reform includes ending the freedom for academies to set pay individually, instead tying them to one national schoolteacher's pay and conditions scale.  

This change risks leaving academy teachers across the country facing pay cuts, as they will be tied to a national framework rather than being decided by their employers – a risk further elevated after Labour's Schools Minister Catherine McKinell refused to rule out cuts to academy teacher salaries. 

The Chief Executive of United Learning, the country's largest academy trust, has already warned of the damage this measure will do. Sir Jon Coles stated that staff had already “understandably expressed concern” about changes to their pay and that “attracting and keeping the best people has been critical to the improvement of our schools – so paying more and offering more flexibility is not only right for us and right for you but most importantly it is right for children”.

This change also comes as part of a wider attack on academies and free schools by the Labour government.  

On 22 October, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson delivered a statement to the House of Commons announcing that she was pausing the delivery of 44 free mainstream schools.  

And in response to a Written Parliamentary Question, Catherine McKinnell revealed that Labour is abolishing the academy conversion grant from 1 January 2025. This will mean that schools who wish to convert to academy status will no longer be given up to £25,000, disincentivising schools from becoming academies. 

Furthermore, the Government have also cancelled the Trust Capacity Fund, including the most recent Window 4 funding. This funding helped multi-academy trusts develop their capacity and take on underperforming schools, particularly in education investment areas. 

These changes would risk driving down standards in schools across the country, with new data published on 5 December by the Department for Education showing that free schools and academies are performing better than community schools. 

In fact, 29 per cent of free schools and 20 per cent of converter academies were recorded as performing ‘well above average', compared to just 9 per cent of community schools – performance that will now be put at risk.

Laura Trott, Shadow Education Secretary, said: 

“Labour's attacks on free schools and academies are shameful – but not surprising given they are trying to tear down the educational consensus of the last two decades.” 

“This Labour government has refused to congratulate our children on being named the best mathematicians in the Western world, just because it happened under a Conservative government. They failed to applaud the best school in the country, Michaela, just because it was a free school. And now we see Bridget Philipson preparing to drive down standards and cut teachers' pay, because once again it doesn't fit her ideological dogma. 

“At the end of the day teachers, pupils and parents will pay the price for Labour's educational vandalism. We will hold them to account for it.”

ENDS 

Notes to Editors 
 

• Labour's Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill will force academies to comply with the same ‘core and pay conditions' as other schools, meaning those academies that deviate from national pay scales by paying hard-working teachers more will be forced to cut the salaries. Labour's Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill calls for all teachers to have the same ‘core pay and conditions', meaning that academies that currently utilise their freedom to deviate from national pay scales will be forced to cut the salaries of hard-working staff (UK Parliament, Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, 17 December 2024, link; Tes Magazine, 17 December 2024, link).  

• Catherine McKinnell refused to confirm that teachers working in academy trusts will not have their salaries cut.  When asked if Catherine McKinnell could guarantee that no teacher would have their pay cut as a result of the change, she refused to confirm this would be the case, commenting ‘No teacher should suffer detriment as a result of the changes, because we really want to retain good practice' (Tes Magazine, 17 December 2024, link). 

• Sir Jon Coles, CEO of United Learning, warned of the damage this measure will do. Coles said that ‘Attracting and keeping the best people has been critical to the improvement of our schools – so paying more and offering more flexibility is not only right for us and right for you but most importantly it is right for children' and that staff had already ‘understandably expressed concern' about their pay being impacted (Schools Week, 19 December 2024, link) 

Labour are abolishing the academy conversion grant and the Trust Capacity Fund, weakening the school system: 

• Labour are abolishing the academy conversion grant from 1 January 2025 and the Trust Capacity Fund, including the most recent round of funding. In response to a Written Parliamentary Question, Education Minister Catherine McKinnell said, ‘The department keeps all of its programmes under review to ensure funding is targeted where it is needed most and on 1 November, we announced that we would be ending the academy conversion grant from 1 January 2025. At the same time, the department also informed trusts that had submitted grant applications for the Trust Capacity Fund, including the Trust Establishment and Growth Fund, that the most recent Window 4 funding round had been cancelled and that there were no plans for future rounds' (UK Parliament, 18 November 2024, UIN 14807, link).  

• The application process for Window 4 of the Trust Capacity Fund was intended to remain open until 25 June 2024. The Trust Capacity Fund, a competitive grant fund, was launched in September 2019 to help form and grow high quality trusts, with a particular focus on supporting high quality trusts, and high quality schools forming trusts, to take on underperforming schools in education investment areas. The most recent round of the fund was split into five windows with Window 4 of the Trust Capacity Fund meant to remain open until 25 June 2024 (DfE, Information for Applicants, March 2024, link; DfE, Guidance, 6 September 2019, link).  

• The Confederation of School Trusts criticised the Government for abolishing the academy conversion grant, commenting ‘it is a short-sighted decision that will weaken the school system'. Leora Cruddas, the CST's Chief Executive, commented, ‘Ending this grant will leave, in particular, smaller primary schools very vulnerable and without the financial and educational sustainability that comes from being part of a trust. It is a short-sighted decision that will weaken the school system' (Schools Week, 1 November 2024, link).  

Labour have paused the delivery of 44 free schools, risking lower school standards of school standards: 

• The Government are pausing the delivery of 44 free schools. PHILLIPSON: ‘There are 44 centrally delivered, mainstream projects where we will engage with local authorities and trusts to review whether the school should open. More details on schools in scope of the review will be provided in due course' (Hansard, 22 October 2024, Vol.755, link).  

New data shows that academies and free schools are performing ‘well above average': 

• 29 per cent of free schools and 20 per cent of academies are performing ‘well above average', compared to just nine per cent of community schools. New data published by the Department for Education shows that 29 per cent of free schools and 20 per cent of academies are performing ‘well above average', in comparison to just nine per cent of community schools (Gov.UK, Key Stage 4 Performance: 2023-24, 5 December 2024, link).  

The Conservatives delivered over 700 free schools and 10,000 academies, providing the opportunities and high standards young people need to succeed: 

• The Conservatives delivered over 700 free schools, with more in the pipeline, bringing high standards, more choice for parents and strong links to industry.  Thanks to the Conservatives, there are over 700 free schools today, including some in the most disadvantaged areas where education outcomes are weakest, providing more opportunities for local young people (The Conservative and Unionist Party, Manifesto 2024, 11 June 2024, link; DfE, Press Release, 22 August 2023, link).  

• Half of all state-funded schools are now high-quality multi-academy trusts that have been key to driving up education standards for pupils, teachers, and leaders. In May 2024, there were 10,839 academies, compared to just 203 in 2010 – with the Conservatives' academies programme being a key driver of standards in schools, meaning every child receives a better education (Hansard, 1 May 2024, Vol.749, link).