Government to raise new teacher salary to £30,000

Plans aim to boost the profession’s appeal to graduates as pupil numbers continue to rise

TEACHERS’ starting salaries are to rise to £30,000 within three years under plans announced by the Government.

The £6,000 pay rise by 2022, which ministers say is the biggest reform to teachers’ pay in a generation, is aimed at boosting the appeal of the profession to graduates and follows rising concern about recruitment and retention of teachers, against a backdrop of soaring pupil numbers.

Last year, a government report warned that there was a “growing sense of crisis” in teacher recruitment.

Ministers had failed to “get a grip” on teacher retention, a Public Accounts Committee said, adding that it was “particularly worrying” that the number of secondary-school teachers had been falling since 2010.

At the same time, secondary school pupil numbers are due to increase by 540,000 – almost 20 per cent – by 2025, according to the Department for Education’s (DFE) official forecast.

Announcing the pay rise, Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, said: “I want the best talent to be drawn to the teaching profession and for schools to compete with the biggest employers in the labour market and recruit the brightest and the best into teaching.

“Teachers should be in no doubt that this Government fully backs them in every stage of their career, starting with rewarding starting salaries, and giving them the powers they need to deal with bad behaviour and bullying and continue to drive up school standards right across the country.”

Mr Williamson said flexible working should be the “norm” for teachers, adding that a group of schools have been appointed to champion this and share best practice.

While other sectors had embraced flexible working, he went on, the lack of opportunity for the practice in the teaching profession was “often cited as a reason for leaving”.

The pay rise is the latest in a string of announcements. From September the Government will fund increased employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme.

The DFE is also planning a crackdown on bad behaviour, with teachers to be given training to make them tougher with unruly children.

Ministers are to launch a review into teacher training, which will focus on implementing stricter behaviour strategies to tackle disruption in schools.

Last week, the Government announced that schools in England would be given a cash boost of £14 billion between now and 2020-23.

Every secondary school will receive a minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year, while every primary school will get at least £4,000 from 2021-22.

Downing Street said the investment delivers on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledge to increase annual school funding by £4.6billion above inflation.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of National Association of Headteachers, called it “the right thing to do”. But he added that teachers needed to be properly rewarded at all stages of their career. “We desperately need to make teachers’ pay competitive if we are going to plug the leaky pipeline. A third of new teachers leave the profession before they’ve completed five years’ service. That’s a crazy situation.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that addressing wages was “long overdue and much needed”.

But he added: “We also need to see an improvement across the board to teachers’ pay ensure that we are also able to retain experienced teachers in the profession.

“It is also vital that any increase is fully funded by government and that it does not fall on school budgets, which are already under severe strain.”