Teachers are set to hold nationwide strikes after ministers announced schools face cuts to fund a new pay rise of 3.5 per cent.

The National Education Union (NEU) said it would ‘not accept’ the deal, which will see teachers paid 3.5 per cent more from September and a further 3 per cent the following year.

While it is more generous than the original proposal of 6.5 per cent across three years, it will not be ‘fully funded’.

Instead, schools will be expected to find 1 per cent of the pay rise for each year from existing budgets, which in reality may mean cutting staff.

It means the NEU, which has 500,000 members, is set to continue with its formal strike ballot this October, following a successful indicative ballot in the spring. Walk-outs will take place after Christmas.

Union officials are confident they will get enough votes to hold the biggest nationwide strikes in recent memory.

The announcement by the Government comes after it accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which is independent.

Reacting today, Daniel Kebede, NEU General Secretary, said: ‘Pressure from the NEU has forced the Government beyond its original pay and funding offer. 

Teachers are set to hold nationwide strikes after ministers announced schools face cuts to fund a new pay rise of 3.5 per cent (pictured: Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union)

‘But let us be clear: a partially funded settlement still means cuts to education, and the NEU will never accept that.

‘Schools are being asked to find £460 million from budgets already at breaking point. This is the equivalent of 8,300 school staff: 3,900 teachers and 4,400 support staff.

‘Ministers cannot claim to want more teachers while overseeing such a drastic reduction in numbers next year.

‘In Makerfield, in Andy Burnham’s constituency, that means 40 schools being forced to find £866,842 collectively from their own budgets simply to meet the Government’s requirement to fund part of this pay award.’ 

Mr Kebede also pointed out that the pay rises may not match inflation for the next two years.

UK inflation was 2.8 per cent, as of the latest figures covering the year to May.

But the Bank of England said in April that UK inflation could peak at 3.6 or 3.7 per cent by the end of this year, and could reach 6 per cent next year in the worst-case scenario. 

Mr Kebede added: ‘With inflation set to rise, members know this offer is not the decisive shift needed to reverse real-terms pay cuts since 2010 or restore the competitiveness of teacher pay. 

The National Education Union (NEU) said it would ‘not accept’ the deal, which will see teachers paid 3.5 per cent more from September and a further 3 per cent the following year (pictured: Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson)

‘Underfunding damages learning, narrows opportunity, drives staff shortages and pushes workload beyond breaking point.’ 

The NEU is likely to coordinate its strike action with sister union the NASUWT, which is also planning a ballot for walk-outs over the same issue.

In addition, the NEU is on a drive to expand its membership, especially among support staff such as dinner ladies, teaching assistants and librarians, to cause maximum disruption. 

It will mean chaos for schools across the country, with pupils missing out on vital work and parents having to find last-minute childcare.

Laura Trott, Shadow Education Secretary, said: ‘This is another kick in the teeth for schools, who have been let down time and again by Bridget Phillipson’s broken promises.

‘Schools are being left to find nearly half a billion to cover unfunded pay awards. That money has to come from somewhere, and it will mean more teachers losing their jobs.

‘It is no surprise that teachers and parents are losing confidence in [her].’

In October, the Department for Education (DfE) suggested in its evidence to the STRB that teachers’ pay should rise by 6.5 per cent across 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 – a less generous offer than the one announced today. 

While it is more generous than the original proposal of 6.5 per cent across three years, it will not be ‘fully funded’ (pictured: Mr Kebede with NEU activists at a demonstration earlier this year)

This afternoon, the DfE said additional funding of £1.8 billion will be provided to schools over two years to support pay rises for teachers and support staff, and an additional £485 million will be provided to colleges and further education providers over the same timeframe. 

The NEU previously said it would launch a formal ballot for strike action in October if the Government failed to make a fully funded, above-inflation pay offer. This afternoon, the union said it was ‘considering all options’.

Today’s announcement also included a promise that academy trust executives’ pay will be capped at £174,000 from September.

Trusts will need to seek Government approval before advertising roles over that salary.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘Our brilliant school and college teachers go above and beyond every day, and I’m determined that dedication is not just recognised, but rewarded.

‘This multi-year deal, backed by significant additional investment, shows the immense value we place in our teachers, while giving schools and colleges certainty over pay and their budgets.

‘It’s also right that classroom teachers are not seeing executive pay rise faster than their own – or set at excessive levels in the first place – so tighter controls will mean unjustifiable exec salaries become a thing of the past, helping level the playing field for school staff and drive every pound towards classrooms.’

Other unions reacted with disappointment to the pay award. The NAHT, a heads’ union, said: ‘It is helpful that the Government is bringing some additional funding to support schools, but we need to be clear that this is not a fully-funded award and it will mean more pressure on already stretched budgets. There is very little headroom in existing budgets and talk of “maximising value” is deeply unhelpful.’

Meanwhile, Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the ASCL heads’ union, welcomed the rise but said: ‘It will be very challenging for many schools to find money from their existing budgets in the way that is required.’

Stacey Booth of the GMB union said today’s teacher pay offer was higher than the 3.3 per cent offered to school support staff.

She said: ‘For hard-working, underpaid school support staff to hear today teacher colleagues will receive a higher pay offer than them is abhorrent and really rubs salt into the wound.’

And Leora Cruddas, of the Confederation of School Trusts, a professional body that represents academy chains, said the executive pay move was ‘micromanagement from Whitehall’.  

She said: ‘We should be empowering trusts and local leaders to do what their communities need, not assuming the DfE knows best.’

Research by the National Foundation For Educational Research shows that, while teacher pay has grown in real terms in the last two years, it is still lower than in 2020 and 2010 when allowing for inflation. 

‘Another kick in the teeth for schools’ 

By Laura Trott, Shadow Education Secretary  

Laura Trott, Shadow Education Secretary, said the announcement was ‘another kick in the teeth for schools’

‘Bridget Phillipson’s half a billion pound of school cuts is another kick in the teeth for schools that have been let down time and again by her broken promises. Only last week, teachers and support staff delivered a damning verdict on Labour’s record in education. Polling from the NEU found nearly three quarters believe Labour has performed badly on education, with Phillipson rated even more poorly than the Prime Minister. Not a single teacher surveyed thought she was doing “very well”.

‘This is hardly surprising, Labour’s ideological tax on education was supposed to pay for 6,500 more teachers, there are now 1,900 fewer. Ministers promised schools would be fully compensated for Rachel Reeves’ Jobs Tax, but they broke that promise too, leaving schools in the red and teachers’ jobs on the line. Now schools are being forced to find almost half a billion pounds to cover unfunded pay awards. That money has to come from somewhere. It will mean fewer teachers, larger class sizes or cuts elsewhere in school budgets. The Department for Education will cover the remainder from its own budget, raising another obvious question what will Labour cut next?

‘When we had to delay teachers’ pay awards until this point in the year, Bridget Phillipson called it “highly irresponsible” and “a complete dereliction of duty”. The hypocrisy is astounding, but symptomatic of this terrible government.

‘That reflects a wider problem. Politics is about choices, and Bridget Phillipson has made hers. She has found hundreds of thousands of pounds for social media influencers while scaling back programmes that genuinely improve children’s opportunities. The Latin Excellence Programme has gone. Funding for computing, science, teacher training bursaries and, more recently, the PE Premium has all been cut back. Schools are being asked to do more with less while ministers spend money on projects that do little to raise standards. It is death by a thousand cuts, with the greatest cost falling on the children who can least afford it.

‘Labour has made a complete mess of education. They have done nothing but destroy the building blocks of our school system. If Andy Burnham really wants the “complete rethink on education” he has called for, he should start by properly funding our schools. Otherwise, it will be teachers who lose their jobs and pupils who pay the price.’