Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “At last we can see that education is being taken seriously as a key public service, and this pay award will be a welcome departure from the below inflation increases of recent years.

“Teachers and school leaders are key workers who have gone above and beyond to keep the country going during the Coronavirus crisis. They deserve a pay rise.

“But today’s announcement on pay puts school leaders in a difficult position. Is it deeply disappointing that the government has chosen not to fund the pay rise, meaning that schools will need to find the money from their existing budgets.

“While recent school funding announcements from government in response to Covid-19 have been welcome, schools are unable to use this money to fund pay increases.

“With school budgets so tight every penny a school spends requires a choice: spend here, cut somewhere else. Schools should not be forced to choose between paying their staff properly and additional investment in children’s education and support.

“Today’s announcement means an anxious summer for school leaders as they decide what they have to cut to afford pay increases for their staff – or if they even need to lose some people to pay the rest more. A summer of stress and difficult decisions is no reward after months of going above and beyond during the pandemic.”

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk