A newly published document (February 2024) sets out Department for Education’s view on the considerations for an appropriate pay award for teachers and leaders in 2024/25. It notes that “Great schools need great teachers and leaders, and a competitive salary” but then goes on to state:
it is the department’s view that [there should be a] return of teacher pay awards to a more sustainable level than the previous two historically high pay awards.
Government Evidence to the STRB, February 2024
They base this view partly on the prediction of lower inflation and the reduction in NI contributions. You can download and read the full report here.
A second report from the DfE suggests that there is only headroom in next year’s financial budgets for schools to raise spending by 1.2 per cent (Schools’ Costs 2023 to 2025, February 2024)
Schools Week suggests that the government is gearing up for a fresh battle with unions, which have already voiced concerns ministers are seeking to “constrain” the STRB’s recommendations, and this article from TES quotes various views that the proposal is unsustainable.
dsga.org.uk 