Sixth form college leaders have dropped legal action against the government after ministers “agreed to provide funding” to support a wage increase in 2024/25.
The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) launched a judicial review claim last year over Labour’s decision to hand £1.2 billion to fund a 5.5 per cent pay rise for school and academy teachers, with nothing for standalone sixth form colleges or general FE colleges.
But a settlement was reached between the two parties in December that ended the proceedings. Specific details cannot yet be released, but the SFCA said there will be an announcement by the government “soon”.
The agreement has led to the SFCA, which negotiates pay in sixth form colleges with teaching unions, upping its pay recommendation from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent for September 2024 to March 2025, increasing to 5.5 per cent from April 2025 onwards.
But the National Education Union today rejected this offer as it is still “inferior” to the school teacher pay award of 5.5 per cent for the full 2024/25 academic year. Three more days of strikes – taking the total to seven days so far – for 32 sixth form colleges will go ahead from tomorrow.
‘A significant step in the right direction’
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said: “Sixth form and FE colleges were seriously disadvantaged by the government’s decision in the summer to fund a pay award for staff in schools and academies but not colleges.
“Following protracted discussions between SFCA and the DfE, we are pleased that ministers have agreed to provide funding for the 2024/25 academic year to support a pay increase for our members.
“We are not free to comment on specific details as this is an ongoing legal matter, but we look forward to an announcement by the government soon.
“Although the funding made available in 2024/25 will not enable colleges to match the pay award in schools and academies, it amounts to a significant step in the right direction. As a result, we have agreed to withdraw our claim for a judicial review and will now focus our efforts on ending the ongoing strike action in sixth form colleges.”
Watkin added that the association was “disappointed” that the NEU is proceeding with three further days of strike action this week, and they are “committed to working with union leaders to avoid any further disruption to young people’s education”.
It is unclear whether the new agreement to support pay is part of the £300 million revenue funding for FE that was announced in October’s budget and is set to be dished out in April 2025.
The DfE said it could not comment as the SFCA legal proceedings are still technically live, but the department did confirm that it will set out how the £300 million will be distributed in due course.
The government also made clear that it does not set or recommend pay in further education, and sixth form colleges are responsible for the setting of appropriate pay for their workforce.
The Association of Colleges said its members can only afford a 2.5 per cent pay award following last summer’s pay snub. It also previously said the £300 million announced at the budget is likely to only fund projected demographic increases in 16-to-19 students.
‘Inferior’ pay offer leads to more strikes
The NEU declined the SFCA’s new pay deal that would hit 5.5 per cent in April because it would mean teachers will lag behind their peers who work in academised sixth forms by 2 per cent for seven months, creating “two tiers of pay for the same job”.
An NEU spokesperson said: “Teachers in non-academised sixth-form colleges have been presented with an inferior pay offer than their counterparts in academised sixth-form colleges, despite all sixth-form colleges being covered by the same collective bargaining arrangements.
“Teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges are striking in order to win a fully funded above-inflation pay increase consistent with the rest of England’s teachers and teachers in academised sixth form colleges.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, added: “Teachers take strike action with great reluctance, but our members in non-academised sixth forms have been left with little choice. It was a clear error by government not to provide funding for pay equivalent to that granted to academised peers. It is not too late for them to correct this mistake.”
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