Key facts
- Teachers in England will receive a 3.5% pay rise from September and a further 3% next year.
- The government will provide an additional £1.8bn over two years to state schools to partially fund the pay rises.
- Support staff will receive a 3.3% pay rise back-dated to April.
- Education unions are concerned that schools will need to find approximately £460m from existing budgets to cover the pay increases.
- The government will allocate an additional £485m to colleges and further education providers over two years.
Teachers in England have been offered a two-year pay deal, with a 3.5% increase from September and an additional 3% next year, amounting to a total of 6.6%. The government announced this alongside an extra £1.8bn in funding for state schools over two years to help cover the increased wage bill. Support staff are set to receive a 3.3% pay rise, back-dated to April. Education unions, while acknowledging the above-inflation increase, expressed significant concern that schools will be required to fund nearly a third of the pay rises from their existing budgets, potentially leading to staff reductions. The National Education Union stated this could mean the loss of approximately 8,300 school staff members, including teachers and support personnel. The union is considering further industrial action. The Department for Education highlighted that this deal represents a cumulative 17% pay increase for teachers since the last election, with average salaries expected to rise to over £52,800 from September. Additionally, colleges and further education providers will receive £485m over two years to aid staff retention. The government also plans to implement new restrictions on academy executive pay, capping salaries at £174,000 without government approval, a move criticized by the Confederation of School Trusts as a bureaucratic hurdle that could harm recruitment and retention of leaders.