The DfE published the
School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) 31st report and the
written ministerial statement in response to it on 21 July 2021.
The report recommends a pay award of £250 for all teachers earning less than £24,000 (FTE) (or the recommended equivalent value for teachers in the London pay areas). The report outlines recommendations for how to implement this, including adjustments for London.
The report also recommends the reintroduction of advisory pay points for the Unqualified Teacher Pay Range, as was the case for the Main and Upper Pay Ranges in 2020.
The Secretary of State has confirmed that he proposes to accept these recommendations in full.
His response statement also states that "
this pay award will be affordable within school budgets due to the government’s three-year investment package announced at the 2019 Spending Round". It goes on to say that the funding that schools have previously received through the teachers’ pay and pension grants will be part of schools’ core funding allocations as determined by the national funding formula from 2021-22 and that "
there will be no increase to these grants in respect of this year’s pay award".
The draft STPCD also includes some additional proposed changes as detailed below:
- Introduction of a payment mechanism for tutoring delivered by MPR/UPR teachers to address learning disruptions as a result of the pandemic (via TLR3s)
- A change (reduction from 195 to 194/190 to 189) to the number of days that teachers must be available to work, as a result of the additional Bank Holiday on Friday 3 June 2022 for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
- Changes to the statutory provisions for teacher induction which come into force on 1 September 2021 (ECF)
The publication of the department’s response to the report, along with the publication of the draft STPCD and draft 2021 Pay Order, signals the start of an eight-week period of consultation ending on 14 September. ASCL is a statutory consultee and as such will be submitting our response on behalf of members in due course.
We have already expressed our huge disappointment in the lack of a recommendation on a pay award for all teachers and leaders in our press release: "
Following a year in which teachers and leaders have worked flat out on managing a battery of Covid control measures as well as assessing students following the government’s decision to cancel public exams, the decision to implement a pay freeze is an absolute insult." You can read the full statement
here.
This is a view that is shared by other teaching unions, as you will see in our
joint press release with NAHT, NEU and Voice.