EPI comments on 2023/2024 teacher pay award

James Zuccollo, Director for School Workforce at the Education Policy Institute, said: “The Government’s agreement to increase teachers’ pay by 6.5% is welcome after a decade in which their pay has declined in competitiveness. This award still does not compensate most teachers for the increases in inflation over the past decade however, so there is still some way to go to restoring teaching’s competitiveness against that of other professions. The Department has committed to funding this year’s settlement from departmental underspend. However, it is unclear where the funding will be found for the following year, when funding is likely to be too low to meet cost pressures. In addition, schools already facing budget pressures may find the funding insufficient and struggle to pay their teachers the full increase.”