The education secretary has told the School Teachers’ Review Body to consider the impact its pay recommendations will have on the FE workforce for the first time.
Bridget Phillipson has also asked for recommendations on 2025 school teacher pay “at the earliest point”, as the new government seeks to move the process earlier in the year.
Under the previous government, annual remit letters from the education secretary to the STRB have told the body to “have regard” of multiple wider issues, including “evidence of the wider state of the labour market in England”.
In what appears to be a first, Phillipson has altered this part of the letter to say: “Evidence of the wider state of the labour market, including the impact of recommendations on the further education teaching workforce in England.”
It comes amid sector outcry following chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to pump an additional £1.2 billion into schools and school sixth forms to help fund a 5.5 per cent pay rise this year while offering nothing to FE colleges.
The Department for Education previously blamed the “very challenging fiscal context” and the fact that FE does not have its own pay review body for the snub.
The further education namecheck in the STRB letter comes a week after skills minister Jacqui Smith told the Labour party conference that the DfE has made the case “strongly” to Treasury for more investment to fund college teacher pay rises ahead of next month’s budget.
College teachers are paid around over £9,000 less than school teachers on average. This gap is even wider when compared to industry workers.
DfE to ‘fully reset’ STRB timeline for 2026
The annual pay-setting process for school teachers had slipped later and later in the year, with final announcements usually coming in July after schools had already had to set draft budgets for the next year.
Last year, for example, the education secretary Gillian Keegan sent her remit letter to the STRB just a few days before Christmas, and then the Department for Education was late in submitting its evidence.
The election further kicked the decision down the road, and a 5.5 pay rise recommendation was eventually accepted by the new government on July 29.
College teacher pay has been impacted by the delays in recent years. The Association of Colleges makes a pay recommendation each year which colleges use as a benchmark in their negotiations with unions that represent their staff. The membership body has delayed making a pay recommendation until the STRB offer was made public in the past two years.
In Phillipson’s STRB remit letter for 2025, published today, she said it was the “government’s intention” to announce the upcoming school pay awards “as close to the start of the financial year of April as possible”.
However, she said it was “unfortunate that, given the knock-on effects from the previous government’s delays to the previous round, it is unlikely that the pay award will be announced before maintained schools should be setting their budgets”.
“But by bringing the pay round forwards this year, we can more fully reset the timeline in 2026-27.
“To this end, I would be grateful if you can deliver recommendations to the government on the 2025/26 pay award for school teachers and leaders at the earliest point that allows you to give due consideration to the relevant evidence.”
To support this, she said the government would publish its written evidence “as soon as possible after the spending review is finalised and financial year 2025-26 budgets are set on 30 October, including budgets relating to pay.
“I recognise that changing the timeline from recent years will present challenges for the STRB, but I am sure you also share the government’s belief in the importance of returning to more timely annual pay processes, so I hope you will understand the necessity of doing so.”
Warning over ‘£22bn spending pressure’
The education secretary also warned the upcoming spending review “comes against the backdrop of the challenging financial position this government has inherited, including a £22 billion pressure against the spending plans set out for departments at spring budget 2024.
“My department will continue to strive to deliver a mission-led approach to ensuring our vital public services are equipped to deliver the high quality on which we rely, whilst providing value for money for taxpayers.
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