This rejection comes after the National Education Union (NEU) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) also turned down the same deal. The government’s offer consisted of a 4.3% pay rise next year and a £1,000 one-off payment this year, with starting salaries rising to £30,000 from September. Although most state school teachers had a 5% pay rise in 2022, unions have been campaigning for a fully funded pay rise, arguing that taking the money from schools’ budgets could lead to cuts in other areas.
The NAHT is now considering balloting members again over strike action. If they do, this would be the first time they have gone on strike in England. The NEU has already planned five strike dates next term, three of which have yet to be confirmed.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, told the BBC that members felt “insulted” by the offer, which was not “properly funded.” He added that the offer was not affordable in most school budgets. Joanne Hall, head teacher at Merritts Brook primary school in Birmingham, also told the BBC that teachers deserved a pay rise, but funding it from school budgets would mean making cuts elsewhere. She called it a “scary prospect” for many head teachers.
The dispute is formally about pay, but unions have also been campaigning on issues such as workload, recruitment and retention. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, teacher salaries fell by an average of 11% between 2010 and 2022, after taking inflation into account. The government argued that the offer was funded and included major new investment of over half a billion pounds, which would help tackle issues such as workload.
