A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“The Government and the education unions – NAHT, ASCL, NEU and
NASUWT - have engaged in intensive discussions over the last 10
days.
“The Government has put forward a fair and reasonable offer,
backed with funding for schools. The offer provides an average
4.5% pay rise for next year, puts £1000 into the pockets of
teachers as a one-off payment for this year, and commits to
reducing workload by five hours each week.
“This is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard
work and dedication.”
Background
· We have listened to teachers and
school leaders and have put forward a fair and reasonable offer
which takes into account both the hard work and commitment of
teachers and the economic challenges facing the country.
· The offer consists of a significant
one-off payment of £1000 for the current academic year (2022-23),
equating to a further 2.4% average pay rise. The increase means
the average teacher will receive a pay rise of 7.8% for the
current year, rising to up to 12.8% for new teachers.
· The one-off payment would be funded
in full through £530 million of new investment for schools.
· It comes on top of the 5.4% average
pay rise teachers have already received in 2022/23 based on the
recommendation from the pay review body, which was the highest
pay award in a generation. The average salary for a classroom
teacher is currently £39,500, a figure which would rise under
this deal.
· The deal includes a consolidated pay
uplift of 4.5% for 2023/2024, with the starting salary for new
teachers rising 7.1% to £30,000, in line with the Government’s
manifesto commitment. This is above forecast for average earnings
across the economy.
· A number of non-pay measures in the
deal would also reduce workload for teachers and respond to a
number of longstanding demands around bureaucracy.
· Last week, the National Foundation
for Educational Research (NFER) – an independent educational
research organisation - recommended that “the 2023 teacher pay
award should exceed 4.1 per cent – the latest forecast of the
rise in average UK earnings next year – to narrow the gap between
teacher pay and the wider labour market, and improve recruitment
and retention.
· This follows the additional £2
billion the government invested in the schools budget for both
next year and the year after, taking the total schools’ budget to
£58.8 billion.
