Increase in Teachers’ Pay Grant £280 million short of fully funded pay award

Education Secretary accepts recommendations to increase teacher pay scales by 2.75%, equivalent to £1,000 on average classroom teacher pay

School teachers and leaders are set to receive an above inflation pay rise in the next academic year.

The Education Secretary has today (Mon 22 July) accepted all the recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), to raise the upper and lower boundaries of all pay ranges by 2.75 per cent.

Schools will continue to determine how staff are paid, but the increase in pay will be supported by an additional £105 million to be paid through the teachers’ pay grant, on top of the £321 million already committed for the 2019-20 financial year.

This will help schools to maximise the money they spend on the frontline, focusing resources on where it matters most – the classroom.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:

Over the last year and a half, I’ve met hundreds of teachers, leaders and staff in schools and have been inspired by their dedication to do the best for the children and young people they work with.

Today’s announcement of a 2.75% pay rise for teachers, accepting the STRB’s recommendations in full, means that teachers and heads can receive a pay rise above current rates of inflation and have more money in their pockets.

If we want the best people working in our classrooms then it’s right that we ensure their salaries recognise the vital nature of their work and the potentially life changing impact they can have on the lives of our children.

Theresa May fails to deliver on teachers’ pay

Responding to the publication of a written ministerial statement confirming that teachers’ pay is to increase by 2.75% for all teaching pay ranges and a £105 million increase in the Teachers’ Pay Grant in the next academic year, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said:

“It was rumoured that Theresa May’s legacy would include an end to school cuts. Instead, her final act has been to make school cuts worse.

“Teaching unions are warning that the Conservatives haven’t provided enough money to fund this pay rise – they’ve left a black hole of £280 million. Teachers will welcome this well-deserved pay increase but it will subject schools to further misery.

“Headteachers must now decide which support staff they will have to sack or which basic supplies they will have to cut back on to afford this underfunded pay rise. No headteacher should have to make these sorts of decisions – schools should be fully funded and teachers should be paid properly.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency cash injection to reverse school cuts so that teachers have the pay they deserve and the resources they need.”

Andrew Baisley of the National Education Union, who developed the methodology for the ‘School Cuts’ website, tweeted earlier today that the increase in the Teachers’ Pay Grant is £280 million short of what would be needed to fully fund this pay award:

Damian Hinds just announced a further cut of £280m to schools this year by not fully funding the pay award.https://t.co/Zp1J6Y6TXB#schoolcuts

— Andrew Baisley (@andrewbaisley) July 22, 2019

Schools Expected to Fund Pay Increase from Stretched Budgets

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

“The refusal of the Government to fully fund this inadequate pay increase for teachers sends out a devastating message to teachers and parents. The Government expects schools to find the missing money from resources that are already scarce following the real-terms cuts to school funding.

“Teachers and parents will be disappointed that the Government is not even providing the funding for the inadequate pay increase recommended by the STRB. Despite the need for additional investment in schools and in teacher pay, the Government is effectively loading further costs of £280 million onto schools. Last year the DfE funded everything above 1%, and this year they are expecting schools to find the first 2% of the 2.75% pay rise, with the remainder coming from as yet unspecified pre-existing DfE budgets. This means more cuts.

“The STRB report confirms that the teacher recruitment and retention problems have continued to deteriorate and links these problems clearly to the steady decline in the competitiveness of teacher pay, but the recommended 2.75% teacher pay increase is below RPI inflation and average earnings across the wider economy. The Government will only solve teacher recruitment and retention problems when it reverses the real-terms cuts to teacher pay and restores the competitiveness of teacher pay. Its failure to even begin that process means that the profession will continue to struggle to attract and retain the teachers we need at a time of growing pupil numbers. The NEU will continue to campaign for the improvements in teacher pay that are needed to solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.

“The Government has ignored the overwhelming evidence that cuts to teacher pay are contributing to a major recruitment and retention crisis. That crisis affects teachers and the children they educate.

“The new Prime Minister needs to act on this immediately. The NEU called for a fully funded increase of 5% as the starting point for the restoration of the real-terms cuts to teacher pay. The NEU and its members will continue to campaign for the pay our teachers deserve.”

GOVERNMENT HAS YET AGAIN FAILED TO DEAL WITH PAY IN A TIMELY MANNER

Chris Keates, General Secretary (Acting) of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“Once again the Government has been sitting on the Report from the School Teachers’ Review Body for weeks and chooses not to release it until schools are in the process of breaking up for the summer.

“Whilst what the headline pay award may be has been released today, all of the detail of the Review Body Report has been withheld.  As we know from past experience, the devil will be in the detail of the pay award and this will need to be reviewed before any definitive comment can be made on the headline announcement.

“The outcome of the School Teachers’ Review Body Report and the Secretary of State’s response is subject to statutory consultation and disgracefully once again this will be conducted while teachers and headteachers are on their summer break.

“It is unacceptable that the Government has yet again failed to deal with these issues in a timely manner to ensure that teachers and headteachers are able to return in September with a clear understanding of the position on their pay.”

An increase of 2.75% is equivalent to a £1,000 increase to average classroom teacher pay and a £1,620 increase in the average pay of school leaders.

Minimum starting salaries for classroom teachers will increase by between £653 (rest of England) and £816 (inner London). This means the minimum starting salary for a qualified teacher in 2019/20 will rise from £23,720 to £24,373 outside of London and from £29,664 to £30,480 in inner London.

Classroom teachers at the top of the main pay range could see an increase between £963 and £1,111 taking their salaries to a possible £35,971 (rest of England) and £41,483 (inner London).

More experienced classroom teachers at the higher end of the upper pay range could receive an increase between £1,084 and £1,327, meaning they could earn up to £40,490 (rest of England) and £49,571 (inner London).

Those on the top of the leadership pay range could see an increase between £3,053 and £3,259 meaning they could earn up to £114,060 (rest of England) and £121,749 (inner London).

The average gross pay for classroom teachers in November 2018 was £36,200 and for leadership teachers was £58,900. In addition to an annual pay award, many teachers also receive increases from promotions and responsibility allowances.

The £105 million of additional funding covers the 0.75% over the level we assessed as affordable in the Department’s evidence to the STRB in January.

The core schools budget is increasing by 2.6% between 2018-19 and 2019-20. Schools typically spend around half of their overall budgets on teachers’ pay.

Today’s announcement builds on the Department’s commitment to provide schools in England with a grant worth £848 million to ensure teachers’ pensions remain among the most generous in the country.

The Education Secretary is determined to ensure salaries for teachers recognise the vital role they play as part of his strategy to recruit and retain the best possible people in the teaching profession.

This announcement comes as almost a million public sector workers including police officers, teachers and soldiers get a second-year of inflation-busting pay rises.