New teachers living outside London to receive a 6.7pc pay increase

STARTING SALARIES for teachers are set to rise to £26,000 this autumn, under Government plans.

The Department for Education (DfE) is proposing the increase as part of its pledge to raise salaries for new recruits to £30,000 by 2022/23.

But one union said that the increases to starting salaries should be replicated across the teaching workforce.

Under the Government’s proposals, wages for new teachers in England, working outside London, will rise by 6.7 per cent this September, to £26,000 from the current minimum of £24,373.

Salaries for those in outer London

would rise to £30,000, and £32,000 for those in inner London.

Experienced teachers and school leaders will get a pay rise of 2.5 per cent this year, the DfE said.

The pay rises will be funded out of extra money due to be pumped into England’s school system, it added. Ministers have announced a three-year plan to increase school spending by £7.1bn by 2022/23.

The DfE has submitted its pay proposals to the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) which reviews teachers’ pay and makes recommendations on pay increases.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “We want to make teaching attractive to the most talented graduates by recognising the prestige that we as a society place on the profession.

“We have set out proposals to significantly raise starting salaries for new teachers to £26,000 next year, rising to £30,000 by September 2022, alongside above-inflation pay increases for senior teachers and school leaders.

“These mark the biggest reform to teacher pay in a generation.”

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: “The increases to starting pay represent long overdue recognition that teacher training targets have been missed for years, and that a significant number of those who qualify leave teaching within five years.

“But those increases need to be replicated across the teacher workforce.”