Education unions representing teachers and school leaders in England – NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, ASCL and Community – today warn the government’s proposed pay award for teachers will hit morale, damage recruitment and retention, put unsustainable pressure on school budgets and lead to cuts and redundancies.

The unions have written to education secretary Bridget Phillipson following the Department for Education’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Ministers have recommended a 6.5% pay uplift spread over three years, weighted towards later years.

The DfE proposal confirms schools will be expected to part-fund future pay awards despite widespread pressure on school budgets. The 2025/26 pay award for teachers has not been fully funded by the government and this proposal will pile enormous additional pressure on schools.

In their letter the unions say the proposals amount to a real-terms pay cut unless inflation falls sharply and doesn’t address the thousands of pounds in pay lost by teachers since 2010 due to sustained pay cuts under the previous Government.

The unions highlight that vacancies remain at double the rate seen before the pandemic and over a million pupils are now taught in classes of more than 30 - the highest number in a generation. They warn that any award not fully-funded will force schools to cut staff and essential provision, undermining efforts to improve outcomes and close attainment gaps.

The joint letter calls on the Government to revise its STRB submission to:

• Deliver fully funded, above-inflation pay awards in each year of this Parliament
• Restore the real-terms value of teacher pay
• Recognise that investment in teachers is essential to achieving ministers’ education priorities

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Schools are still grappling with the consequences of below-inflation pay rises under the last government which have really harmed their ability to ensure all pupils have the teachers and leaders they deserve.

Further real-terms cuts would be a recipe for exacerbating the difficulties they face and now is not the time for the government to retreat from the welcome progress it has made in beginning to restore pay and the attractiveness of teaching as a long-term career.

“Combined with a failure to fund even the disappointing increase being proposed, this would be an unwelcome double whammy for schools, many of which are already struggling to make budgets add up.”

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said: “Teachers have already suffered over a decade of real-terms pay cuts. These proposals fail to repair that damage and will only exacerbate the recruitment and retention crisis in our schools.

"It is unacceptable to ask schools to fund pay awards from budgets that are already stretched to breaking point. If ministers are serious about raising attainment and improving the life chances of children, they must invest in the dedicated workforce that delivers them."

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union said: “Yet again the Government has created anxiety amongst the profession by putting forward evidence that suggests a below inflation pay award that is to be funded out of existing budgets. We expected better from Labour.

“The years of pay cuts since 2010 have already caused severe recruitment and retention problems and hit teacher living standards hard.  Further pay cuts will make things even worse.  Fully funded, significantly above inflation pay rises are essential to properly value, recruit and retain the teachers we need.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The DfE’s proposals are very disappointing and the government needs to reconsider. Any pay awards that are not fully funded will necessitate schools making cuts to provision, as finances are already so strained.

"The proposed three-year pay award fails to address historic pay erosion and will do nothing to ease the severe teacher shortages in schools and colleges. The government has to understand that if they are demanding more from our workforce, be that for enrichment, extra-curricular activities, or attracting the new recruits that are necessary to deliver the aspirations of a wider curriculum offer, then this all needs properly funding.”

Helen Osgood, National Secretary for Education and Early Years at Community Union, said: "The previous government left us with a recruitment and retention crisis in our education sector. We can only tackle this with continued meaningful investment in the workforce. That means a proper pay rise funded by Government, action on workload and increased PPA time are all essential."

The full text of the letter reads:

Dear Secretary of State

We are writing jointly on behalf of the five education unions representing teachers and school leaders — NASUWT, NEU, NAHT, ASCL and Community regarding the government’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) for the 2026 pay award.

We are extremely concerned that the Department for Education’s submission proposes an overall uplift of 6.5% over three years, weighted towards later years of the Parliament, and that this uplift will not be fully funded.

The DfE’s evidence relies on forecast inflation quickly reverting to the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target and remaining there. The OBR acknowledges that inflation outturns have been significantly higher. Locking in low level increases in teachers’ pay risks further eroding the real value of teachers’ earnings which have fallen very significantly on any inflation measure since 2010.

The DfE’s evidence contains a number of more positive statistics from the most recent 12 months. Even where we accept these figures, they typically represent small recoveries from what were historic lows. For example, teacher vacancies decreased in November 2024 by 600 to 2,200. However, this remains around double the pre-pandemic rate and is the third worst on record. From these small, single-year upticks, the DfE has extrapolated a long-term recovery in teacher recruitment and retention.

Schools are already facing significant financial strain. The DfE did not fully funded the staff pay awards for 2025-26 and the DfE evidence makes clear that schools must part fund future pay awards. Trust CEOs told the Confederation of School Trusts that financial sustainability is by far and away their most demanding priority. Any award that is not fully funded will inevitably result in further cuts to staffing and essential provision, undermining the ability of schools to deliver high-quality education for all pupils.

This would be at odds with the government’s stated commitment to improving standards and outcomes. Over a million pupils are already taught in classes of more than 30, the highest number in a generation.

We urge the government to submit revised evidence to the STRB which:

• Reflects the urgent need to restore the real-terms value of teacher pay; • Provides for fully funded, above-inflation awards in each year of this Parliament; and • Recognises that investment in teachers and schools is essential to delivering the government’s education priorities.

We would welcome an early meeting to discuss these concerns and to ensure that the pay review process contributes to a sustainable solution to the recruitment and retention challenges facing schools