Teachers’ pay is set to rise, following recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) published today.
Education and skills secretary Ruth Kelly announced that teachers will receive a 2.5% pay increase from September 2006, with an additional increase of 2.5% from September 2007. Kelly also said there will be further proposals for reform of teachers’ pay and conditions.
“I am grateful to the STRB for the forward-thinking proposals for introducing further change into the pay system,” she said. “I believe the proposed 2.5% pay award is fair on the basis of the arguments put forward by the STRB in respect of the need both to recruit and to retain teachers at a time of change, and the relationship between teachers’ pay and that of others in the labour market.”
Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments – where teachers are rewarded for taking on additional leadership responsibilities – and special education needs allowances, will also increase by 2.5% in September 2006 and September 2007.
Spending on teachers’ pay currently takes up an average of 60% of a school’s budget. Currently, a newly qualified teacher working outside London can currently expect to earn a minimum of ÂŁ19,641. A newly qualified teacher working in central London can expect to earn ÂŁ23,5772, which could rise to around ÂŁ40,000 after a minimum of five years’ experience. An experienced teacher outside London could currently earn up to ÂŁ33,4443.
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