Responding to the Budget, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
 
“The announcement of the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap is a positive step and will make a difference to the lives of many children living in poverty. NASUWT teachers see the devastating impacts of poverty in their classrooms every day and policy change that helps alleviate that will be welcomed. But if Ministers are serious about supporting families then they must also deliver on strong and well-funded public services, including education.
 
“The Government talks about the vital role public services play in society but we want to see how that translates into reality for schools and their staff. Teachers need to be valued, fairly rewarded and better equipped to deliver the highest standards for children and young people.
 
“The Chancellor needs to deliver a fully-funded pay award for teachers that reflects the importance of teachers in changing the lives of children, and show how Government will work with the profession to rebuild resilience in schools by delivering increases in funding to school budgets that have been stripped bare.
 
“We want to see the Government’s professed commitment to strengthening public services translated into action that supports teachers’ pay, wellbeing and working conditions. A stable, well-supported teaching workforce is essential if the country is to achieve its ambitions for children and young people.”