Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate the risk of industrial action in (a) schools and (b) colleges.

Members of the National Education Union, the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, the National Association of Head Teachers and the Association of School and College Leaders voted to agree that the pay award recommended by the Independent Pay Review Body was sufficient to not take industrial action on pay this term.

School teachers will receive the largest pay award in three decades of 6.5% beginning in September 2023. Alongside this, the Government has met the manifesto commitment to give all new teachers a starting salary of at least £30,000. The Department is also providing schools with £525 million this year and £900 million next year to fund the award. This comes on top of the £2 billion a year financing in schools announced at the Autumn Statement 2022, which will take school funding to its highest level in history. Combined, this means school funding will now be nearly £60 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.

Alongside additional funding, the Department has committed to convening a taskforce comprised of union representatives, experts, and experienced practitioners. The Secretary of State will continue to work closely with unions on issues that matter to teachers, including through the Workload Reduction Taskforce, to explore how the Department can go further to support head teachers with workloads and enable teachers and head teachers to focus on high quality teaching.

The Government plays no role in setting or making recommendations regarding pay in colleges or other further education (FE) institutions. For the first time ever, the Secretary of State for Education announced that the Department will provide additional financing in the FE sector of £185 million in financial year 2023/24 and £285 million in the 2024/25 financial year. This funding will enable colleges to address key priorities, including supporting recruitment and retention. This funding is in addition to the £125 million of funding that it has already been announced will be available in the 2023/24 financial year to boost the national 16 to 19 funding rate and subject specific funding. This means that 16 to 19 institutions will see a larger than expected increase to funding rates.