“If we want the best people working in our classrooms then it’s right that we ensure their salaries recognise the vital nature of their work and the potentially life changing impact they can have on the lives of our children.” – Damian Hinds*
On the 22 July 2019, Damian Hinds (Education Secretary) announced his acceptance of the recommendations made by the independent School Teacher’s Review Body (STRB) to increase teacher pay scales by 2.75%. Classroom teachers will, on average, see their salary increase by an additional £1,000 per annum following the acceptance of the recommendations, whilst Leadership will, on average, see an increase of £1,620 per annum.
The 2.75% increase is to be applied to across all Teacher and Leadership pay bands. It is for the schools to determine how staff are paid however there has been an additional £105m paid into the teacher’s pay grant to assist schools in paying their employees. The £105m only covers the 0.75% over the affordable level (2%) assessed in January 2019, so schools will need to find the additional 2% in their school budgets but the core school budget is set to increase by 2.6%, between 2018 and 2020.
Teachers coming into the profession will receive a starting salary of £24,373 (outside of London), whilst teachers on the top pay range will now be in receipt of £35,971 (outside of London).
The recruitment and retention of teachers has been an ongoing concern for a number of years with recent surveys showing that a fifth of teachers expect to leave the profession within the next 2 years**. It is hoped the increase in pay can incentivise those wanting to enter the profession and retain those already in position.
Please keep an eye out for the formal release of STPCD 2019 on our blog. We will also be sending our model 2019 Pay Policy and statements to clients in the near future, once the formal release has been confirmed.
If you have any questions about pay or contracts, please get in touch with one of the team on 01924 827869. We also have training courses running from September which may be of interest. Contracts Administration, Pay and Conditions is running on 22nd October in Wakefield and Managing change for senior leaders is running on September 18th in Bradford with subsequent dates in Leeds and Sheffield. To book your place click on the links or browse our training section on the menu.
*https://www.gov.uk/government/news/school-teachers-pay-to-rise-by-275
