Commenting on the Education Secretary’s evidence to the
School Teachers’ Review Body about the 2019 pay award for
teachers and school leaders, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of
the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“It is extremely disappointing that the Secretary of State has
told the School Teachers’ Review Body that a 2% increase in
teacher pay is affordable from school budgets when this is
absolutely not the case. School funding per pupil has fallen by
8% in real terms over the past eight years, including cuts of
more than 20% to school sixth-form funding. These are not our
figures but those of the independent Institute for Fiscal
Studies. Schools have had to absorb a series of additional cost
pressures without any more funding and this has inevitably
resulted in many having to set deficit budgets and implement
major cuts. To say that schools can now afford yet another
unfunded cost pressure not only adds insult to injury but places
educational standards at risk.
“Furthermore, a 2% pay award is not only unaffordable but totally
inadequate after years of pay austerity which has eroded the real
value of teachers’ salaries. It is absolutely vital that the pay
of teachers and leaders is improved as a matter of urgency at a
level which addresses the ongoing crisis in recruitment and
retention, and better reflects the professionalism, commitment
and sheer hard work of the teaching workforce, and this must be
fully funded by government. Anything less is a kick in the
teeth.”
