Commenting on the publication of the STRB report and announcements by the Government on teacher and CEO pay, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“The proposals on teacher pay fall well short of what is required to support the continued delivery of a world class education service.

“NASUWT argued for a fully funded, restorative pay award that would begin to reverse years of real-terms pay erosion and help tackle the recruitment and retention crisis affecting schools across England. The Government has failed to deliver that ambition.

“Instead, schools will once again be expected to fund the first 1% of the pay award from existing budgets, which are already at breaking point. At a time when many schools are reducing staffing, cutting educational provision and making redundancies to balance their budgets, this will place even greater pressure on school finances. Teachers should not have to foot the bill for their own pay award through cuts to the education service. Cutting jobs in schools will exacerbate the excessive hours and workload already forcing too many out of the teaching profession.

“We have long campaigned for a cap on academy CEO pay and the announcement of measures to introduce greater oversight of salaries is a welcome step in the right direction. However, the proposed curbs will not apply retrospectively and will therefore do nothing to address the profiteering and excessive salaries already in place.

“The Government has failed to offer the investment and solutions needed to put our schools on a sustainable footing for the future and ensure funding is focused on the frontline where it is most needed. We will be carefully considering our next steps in light of today’s announcement and all options, including possible industrial action, remain on the table.”