Responding to the government’s announcement today of a 4% pay uplift for all teaching staff salaries, and 3.2% for school support staff, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We are pleased to see that the teachers’ pay review body has again listened to our evidence and recommended a pay award higher than the DfE’s initial recommendation, and that the government has accepted that recommendation.

“While there remains some way to go to achieve full pay restoration, this uplift is another step in the right direction. Further investment is critical to recruiting and retaining the high-quality professionals that the nation’s children need.

“However, school leaders are rightly concerned about the affordability of this year’s pay uplift. The news that the schools will be receiving additional funding to help cover some of the costs is welcome, but they will remain concerned that they will still need to find a proportion from within their existing budget allocations.

“NAHT welcomes the timeliness of the STRB’s work, government’s decision making, and a consultation period that will conclude in time for pay decisions to be implemented for the start of the new academic year. This represents a refreshing change from the past and demonstrates respect for the school workforce – easing the workload burden on leaders and their staff caused by routinely late remits.

“Moving forwards, we are keen to discuss with government the possibility of a future multi-year approach to pay and funding that gives greater certainty for teachers, leaders and government alike.  This would provide valuable space to devise a new and effective pay system to meet government’s ambition to restore teaching as a high-quality graduate career choice.

“As we always do, NAHT will now be seeking the views of its members on today’s announcement.”