“These proposals are extremely disappointing. The suggested pay award is inadequate and the DfE’s recognition that most schools would need to find savings from existing budgets to deliver even this meagre amount reflects the insufficiency of the government’s education funding plans.
“School finances are already run very tightly, and it would not be possible to bridge this funding gap through efficiency savings as these don’t exist. Without additional funding, schools would have to implement further cuts which will have an impact on educational provision.
“The proposed pay award over three years doesn’t address historic pay erosion and is dangerously close to being a real-terms pay cut as it relies on inflation being low across the period. It won’t support the government’s target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers and is more likely to make recruitment and retention even worse.
“We urge the pay review body to assert its independence once again and recommend a pay award at the level needed to attract people into teaching and keep them in the profession.
“We urge the government to be bolder and more ambitious for education by committing to fully fund the recommendation of the pay review body.”