Key facts
- The UK government has agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England.
- The National Education Union (NEU) had threatened strike action over concerns the pay offer was not fully funded.
- The pay offer includes a 3.5% increase from this month and an additional 3% from September next year.
- The government will use savings from local government pension scheme revaluations to cover the pay award.
- The NEU estimates this will result in an additional £500 million for schools this year.
- 97% of NEU members polled found it unacceptable that schools would have to fund 1.1% of the pay rise shortfall.
The UK's largest education union, the National Education Union (NEU), has announced a significant victory after the government agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England. This decision marks a reversal of previous policy, which had required schools to find nearly a third of the wage increases from their existing budgets.
The NEU had been preparing for a strike ballot next month over the government's pay offer, which included a 3.5% increase effective this month and an additional 3% from September next year. While an improvement on earlier proposals, concerns persisted about the funding gap.
Following negotiations over the summer, the current Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, confirmed in a letter to NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede that the entire pay award would be fully funded. This funding will be sourced from recent revaluations of the local government pension scheme, which are expected to reduce employer contribution rates by 4.9 percentage points. Kebede stated this would provide an estimated additional £500 million for schools this year, addressing a £460 million "black hole" in school budgets.
Powell urged the NEU to reconsider its planned strike action in light of this "material change to the affordability position." The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.