Laura Doel, director of school leaders' union NAHT Cymru, said: “Confirmation by the Welsh Government that it intends to award leaders and teachers a 5% pay award is a bitter blow for the profession.

“This award does nothing to address the decade of cuts to salaries which has seen school leaders salaries cut by more than 20% in real-terms.

“No additional money will be awarded by the Welsh Government to support the uplift, meaning schools will be at the mercy of whatever amount Local Authorities have budgeted for.

“That varies depending where you are in Wales, meaning schools will have to make up the shortfall from existing budgets.

“Schools will once again fall victim of the postcode lottery of school funding, but it is our children and young people that will suffer as a consequence.

“The erosion of teachers and leaders’ terms and conditions will cause untold damage to education, cripple schools’ ability to deliver and have a detrimental impact on learners.

“While we join the calls for additional money for Wales from the UK Government to support the public sector, all Welsh Government expenditure on education must be under review to ensure what money is available is spent where it offers the greatest benefit for learners.

“Additional reforms, manifesto commitments and a costly middle tier will be meaningless if we can’t afford to keep teachers and teaching assistants in front of learners.

“With school leaders already considering redundancies in a bid to balance the books, now it the time to stand up and say enough is enough.”