The full details of the teachers pay increase in Wales as independent recommendation rejected
The full details of the teachers pay increase in Wales as independent recommendation rejected
Teachers are being offered a 4% pay rise in Wales
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto )
Teachers in Wales are set to get a 4% pay rise from September, the Welsh Government has announced. The proposed pay rise is below the level recommended by an independent pay body that wanted a 4.8% hike.
The pay rise proposed by the Welsh Government is in line with the rise planned for teacher in England. Education Secretary Lynne Neagle said that a higher rise would have meant cuts to school budgets elsewwhere.
The higher pay rise of 4.8% had been recommended by the Independent Wales Pay Review Body which said that it was needed in part to address "urgent" problems recruiting and retaining teachers in Wales, an argument long made by unions.
But the minister said that teachers in Wales had benefited from a 5.5% pay boost last year which had been significantly above the recommendation. She said a 4% rise would see the average classroom teacher pay rise by more than £1,900 a year.
The minister said the Welsh Government would fund a 4% rise in full, something that has not been promised in England where schools must cover 1% of the award there.
Previous awards in Wales have not always been funded in full leaving schools having to meet them from over stretched budgets, often leading to cuts.
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Teaching unions and headteachers' representatives said they would consult their members on the 4% put by the Welsh Government and questioned what "fully funded" was in reality. Sign up for our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Arguing for the 4.8% rise, the pay review body said teachers' pay had declined in real terms from 2010 onwards. It said CPI inflation is forecast to rise from 2.5% last year to 3.2% this year and workers in the private sector had received average pay awards of 6.1%, while for the public sector, it was 5.3%.
There will now be consultation on the 4% being run by Welsh government before a final decision is made.
Proposed pay rises
Main pay rangeGrade Current salary Recommendation Welsh Gov proposal
M2 £32,433 £33,990 £33,730
M3 £35,039 £36,721 £36,440
M4 £37,739 £39,550 £39,248
M5 £40,710 £42,664 £42,338
M6 £44,802 £46,952 £46,594
Upper pay range
Grade Current salary Recommendation Welsh Gov proposal
Min £46,446 £48,675 £48,303
U2 £48,148 £50,480 £50,073
Max £49,944 £52,341 £5,1941
Leading practitioner pay range
Min £50,902 £53,345 £52,938
Max £77,382 £81,096 £84,339
Leadership group pay range (selected)
1 £50,653 £53,084 £55,207
10 £63,290 £66,328 £65,821
20 £80,865 £84,747 £84,099
23 £87,027 £91,204 £90,508
Laying outs its recommmendation for a 4.8% rise the IWPRB said: "We believe that there is a strong argument for an above inflationpay settlement both to maintain the financial competitiveness of a career inteaching and leadership, and to recognise the multi-faceted pressures and demands created by the wider economic backdrop and other challenges," the report laying out the recommendations added.
The minister was unmoved by these arguments. She said she had been clear to the IWPRB about the "challenging financial context faced by the Welsh Government, local authorities and schools". She had to consider the affordability of the rise as welll as providing suitable reward for teachers to ensure "Wales continues to attract high-quality new entrants".
In a statement responding to the IWPRB's recommendation she added: "In recognition of the importance of providing full and sustainable funding for teachers' pay, I am therefore consulting on increasing all salaries and allowances by 4% from September 2025.
"While this is below this year's IWPRB recommendation, in 2024/25 I was able to make a pay award of 5.5% - significantly higher than the IWPRB recommendation of 4.3%. What I am proposing therefore equates to around a 9.7% pay award over 2024/25 and 2025/26, compared to the approximately 9.3% total recommended by the IWPRB over those two years."
The minister said a 4.8% rise would mean cash being redirected from other areas of government spending such as school budgets.
Other recommendations are still being considered including continuing progress on moving ALN Coordinators (ALNCos) to the leadership pay scale, as recommended in the IWPRB. The minister said she is onsulting on changes to bring these changes into effect.
She said she was also committed to progressing the IWPRB strategic review recommendations to move towards a single pay scale for teachers which would also remove the application process teachers need to go through to move from the main pay scale to the upper pay scale from September 2025.
The minister said she wanted to "reward and recognise the excellent work that teachers do here in Wales" and "continue to make improvements for our education workforce. "
She will now invite written comments on her response to the IWPRB's recommendation and report and will consider these before making a final decision.
School leaders representatives said they were disappointed and questioned what the "full" funding would look like or whether school budgets would be affected.
Laura Doel, National Secretary of NAHT Cymru, said: "We are concerned that the Welsh Government's counter offer of 4% seeks to ignore the recommendations of the review body due to affordability."
She said lumping two years' awards together made a "false impression" and questioned what fully funded will look like saying there were "winners and losers in additional funding" previously..
'By not properly funding the pay award school leaders will be forced to make incredibly difficult decisions about how to balance the books. This means they will be looking at what can be cut, including support and resources for pupils, and having to make redundancies or not replacing staff when they leave," said Ms Doel.
"Ultimately this cannot help but negatively impact the quality of education and opportunities available for children, as well as making it harder to get the best people in front of them. It's shortsighted and counteractive to the aim of improving schools.
'For Welsh Government to say that paying teachers and school leaders what they are worth would put increased pressure on school budgets is an unfair position to put leaders in. They shouldn't be expected to choose between providing for their learners and being paid what they are owed. Other professions are not made to feel guilty in this way and leaders should not be either.
'We will consult our members on the offer but have no intention of recommending anything that seeks to coerce our members into accepting less than they deserve and that would compound the recruitment and retention crisis we face.'
Claire Armitstead, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, said she was disappointed the Welsh Government had not fully accepted the IWPRB recommendations but glad 4% would be funded.
'With regards to the pay award, it is good that the 'no detriment' clause has been adhered to, meaning the teacher pay award in Wales will be no less than that in England, but it's regrettable that the pay review body's calls to go further have not been met.
'We now need to see all local authorities passing on this funding directly to schools, enabling them to meet the costs of this award. Too many schools in Wales are in a very challenging position financially and this funding is absolutely crucial in ensuring they are able to retain and hire the staff they require."
Nicola Fitzpatrick, Wales Secretary of teaching union the NEU said her union would consult its members on how to respond. "NEU Cymru will be using this opportunity to consult with our members on the Welsh Government's offer. We know the funding of the offer is a red line for our members, and it is important that Welsh Government has assured us the increase will be funded and this has to be the case for all local authorities across Wales. We cannot state enough how important it is that the real cost of the pay rise makes it to every school in Wales."
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