Teachers to receive 3.5% pay rise as public sector cap lifted, government announces
The IndependentThe best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Classroom teachers on the main pay range will get 3.5 per cent, while higher-paid teachers will get 2 per cent and school leaders will receive 1.5 per cent. Luke Sibieta, a research fellow for the IFS, said a 3.5 per cent pay rise for teachers on the main pay range would help with recruitment and retention for teachers early on in their career. But he added: "About 60 per cent of teachers will receive below-inflation awards of 2 per cent, or in the case of school leaders 1.5 per cent.” On the pay deal – which was announced on the last day of term for schools – the education secretary, Damian Hinds, said: “This will mean that teaching continues to be a competitively rewarded career, and I will continue to work with the profession, Ofsted and the unions on issues like excessive workload, professional development and flexible working, to make sure teaching remains an attractive, fulfilling profession.” He added: “There are no great schools without great teachers and I want us to recruit and retain brilliant teachers who are fairly rewarded for the vital work they do.” A new pay deal for the NHS – a 6.5 per cent increase for nurses, paramedics and porters over three years – was announced in March. This prompted members of Britain’s largest teaching union – the National Education Union – to threaten to take strike action if teachers were not awarded a 5 per cent fully-funded pay rise.