Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support college teachers who did not receive the 5.5% pay rise; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of tying pay increases for(a) college and (b) school teachers to a level above inflation.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances. FE Colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.

This government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving FE sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.

At the October Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.

This builds on our investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department is also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16, who are predominantly studying in FE.

The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. For the 2024/25 academic year, FE training bursaries are worth up to £30,000 each, tax free. Additionally, we are supporting industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through our ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.

The 5.5% pay award announced in the summer for the 2024/25 academic year was for school teachers only. School teachers’ pay is set through an independent, statutory process each year, and for 2024/25 the department accepted the School Teachers' Review Body’s (STRB) recommendation in full.

The process for determining the school teacher pay award for 2025/26 is currently underway. On 10 December, the department published its written evidence to the STRB, to inform their recommendations. The evidence sets out that in the context of the challenging national economic picture, a 2.8% pay award for school teachers would be appropriate, ensuring school teachers’ pay remains competitive.

In making their recommendations for 2025/26 school teacher pay, the STRB have been asked to consider the impact of their recommendations on the FE teaching workforce in England. This does not change how pay is set in FE, but, as the FE and school workforces are closely related, it is important that the STRB consider the totality of the workforce when they look at the evidence.