The NEU has today written to calling out the Government
for its failure to properly invest in education and for delaying
the school teacher pay review body process in England.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said;
“The NEU is calling on to urgently issue a remit
to the STRB that includes the key issue of restoring the pay lost
in real terms. In the interests of teachers, parents and
pupils, the Government must reverse the harm its policies have
done to our education service.
‘Last July, the Secretary of State promised to complete the
review body process earlier this year to better align it with
schools’ budget cycle. And yet her remit letter to the STRB is
already three weeks later than last year.
‘Teacher pay has been hit with huge real terms cuts since 2010
and teacher workload is sky high. Today’s catastrophic
teacher recruitment figures, with numbers down from an already
low base and just 50% of the secondary school target met, are
only the latest confirmation of the damage that is being done by
the Government’s wilful refusal to improve teacher pay and
conditions. With no new funding for schools, teacher
recruitment falling through the floor, and teacher living
standards hit hard, the Government is turning its back on the
needs of our education service. That means it is turning
its back not only on teachers, but on parents and pupils too”.
Full text of letter below :
Rt Hon MP
Secretary of State for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
7 December 2023
Dear Secretary of State
You will be aware that ahead of his Autumn Statement, we wrote to
the Chancellor (on 9 November 2023) urging him to prioritise
funding for education. We are extremely concerned that the
Chancellor has subsequently failed to announce any new funds for
schools. Our concern is now compounded by your failure to issue a
remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).
I am sure that I do not need to remind you of the commitment you
made to the education unions when settling our pay dispute last
summer, namely to “align the timing of the STRB process with the
school budget cycle to make it easier for schools to plan ahead,
make effective choices and reduce nugatory contingency planning.”
(Your 14 July 2023 letter to education union General
Secretaries).
Your remit letter to the STRB is already three weeks late
compared to last year. At this point in the pay review cycle,
statutory consultees should have been invited to submit written
(and supplementary) evidence to the STRB, so that it can review
that evidence and then report on pay matters in sufficient time
to settle pay matters ahead of the new academic year. The
commitment you made to us on 14 July 2023, clearly indicated your
intention to settle pay matters ahead of the school budget cycle
this year (i.e. by the end of April 2024).
It is difficult to see how you can abide by this commitment to
conclude the statutory process earlier than previously when you
are already starting it at least three weeks later. Failure to
engage with us on pay matters in a timely fashion not only, once
again, frustrates the ability of school leaders to plan ahead and
offer their staff and parents the certainty they deserve. It also
further undermines the rights of our members to be represented by
their union over their pay.
But the most worrying aspect of this delay in the pay review
process is that it forestalls any meaningful attempt to address
the multiple crises facing our schools. As we stated in our 9
November letter to the Chancellor, currently schools will barely
be able to afford a teacher pay rise of one per cent in September
2024. We currently expect schools’ costs to rise by at least 5.8
per cent in 2024-25, in the event of a pay award equivalent to
that awarded in 2023-24. Unless this year we take a meaningful
step towards the full restoration of the pay teachers have lost
in real terms against inflation since 2010, schools will simply
not be able to recruit and retain teachers nor avoid making
further cuts in provision. Today’s news that the Government’s
teacher training recruitment targets have been missed yet again
confirms this beyond all reasonable doubt. We would expect your
remit letter to the STRB to direct it to review the critical
issue of pay lost in real terms since 2010.
So, your delay issuing the remit letter to the STRB not only
fails teachers and leaders. It fails pupils and parents too.
In our view, it constitutes an attempt to frustrate the statutory
scheme and, in light of the commitments you made last July,
constitutes a very serious act of bad faith.
I trust that you will now confirm how and when you will ensure
you honour the commitments you made on 14 July 2023, most
specifically by issuing the STRB with an appropriate remit to
immediately address the matters relating to teachers’ pay and
conditions for 2024-25 that the crisis in education demands.
Teachers, leaders, pupils and parents will not forgive any
further delay.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Daniel Kebede
General Secretary
