The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson)
The 30th report of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) is being published today. Its recommendations cover the remit issued in September 2019. The report contains recommendations on the pay award for teachers that is due to be implemented from September 2020.
The STRB has recommended a 5.5% uplift to the minima of the main pay range and a 2.75% uplift to the maxima of the main pay range and the minima and maxima of all other pay ranges and allowances in the national pay framework. These recommendations are equivalent to a 3.1% increase in the overall pay-bill.
The STRB has also recommended advisory pay points on the main pay range and upper pay range.
I am pleased to confirm my proposed response is to accept these recommendations in full.
This teachers’ pay award—the largest since 2005—helps to recognise the extraordinary efforts of our teachers and leaders. It provides for a substantial above-inflation increase to the pay ranges for all teachers and leaders.
For example, for an experienced teacher at the top of the upper pay range this pay award could mean an increase of between £1,114 and £1,364, depending on location. Furthermore, this pay award is the continuation of several years of substantial pay awards—last year all pay ranges were uplifted by 2.75% and in 2018 uplifts to pay ranges averaged at 2.4%.
Furthermore, this Government made a commitment to increase starting salaries nationally for teachers to £30,000 by 2022-23. This pay award takes the first step to delivering this commitment, with a 5.5% increase to starting salaries worth between £1,341 and £1,677 depending on location. This will mean that starting salaries for new teachers will be between £25,714 and £32,157 depending on location in the 2020-21 academic year.
These substantial increases to teacher starting pay will help ensure teaching is rightly regarded as a well-rewarded and prestigious profession, enabling us to attract the most able graduates and career changers into teaching to support improved outcomes for pupils.
This pay award also takes a decisive step towards a pay structure which better supports teacher retention, with large increases to early career pay where we know retention is most challenging. Alongside other crucial reforms such as the early career framework and new national professional qualifications, this pay award will help to ensure we are retaining great teachers through the crucial early career phase.
Finally, this pay award will be affordable, on average, nationally for schools thanks to this Government’s three-year investment package announced at the 2019 spending round. We are increasing core schools funding by £2.6 billion this year, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20. As previously set out, from 2021-22 the funding schools currently receive through the teachers’ pay and pension grants will be part of schools’ core funding allocations, as determined by the schools national funding formula, and there will be no increase to these grants in respect of this year’s pay award.
A full list of the recommendations and my proposed approach for all pay and allowance ranges can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questionsanswers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-07-21/HCWS402/.
My officials will write to all of the statutory consultees of the STRB to invite them to contribute to a consultation on the Government’s response to these recommendations and on a revised schoolteachers’ pay and conditions document and pay order. The consultation will last for eight weeks.
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