Report from thinktank calls for long-term pay strategy

A REPORT by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is calling for a longterm strategy on teacher pay, amid a deepening workforce crisis.

Analysis of workforce data by the NFER in its Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2023 showed teacher vacancies were 93 per cent higher in the academic year up to February 2023 than at the same point before the pandemic.

The NFER also warns that recruitment to initial teacher training in 2023/24 is likely to be “significantly below target”.

NFER school workforce lead and co-author of the report Jack Worth said: “The 2023 teacher pay award should exceed 4.1 per cent – the latest forecast of the rise in average UK earnings next year – to narrow the gap between teacher pay and the wider labour market, and improve recruitment and retention. This should be accompanied by a long-term plan to improve the competitiveness of teacher pay while – crucially – ensuring schools have the funds to pay for it.”

Responding to the findings, NEU deputy general secretary Niamh Sweeney said: “In its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body, the NEU has pointed out time and again the problem that has been stoking. Teachers’ earnings have fallen 11 percentage points more than similar graduates over an 11-year period. This does not help to make teaching an attractive choice and, once in the profession, persistently high workload demands drive out too many too early.”