July 23, 2022

STRB Body Study Finds Pay Rises to Cost Schools £1.3bn

S STRB, an independent body in charge of reviewing teacher salaries, wants a broader mandate to investigate whether the entire pay system is working, claiming that "material change" is required to address long-standing recruitment and retention issues. Following demands from the School Teachers' Review Body, the government increased its pay offer for senior teachers to 5% beginning in September.

Ministers initially proposed a 3% raise, with larger raises for new teachers to meet a £30,000 starting salary pledge. Schools, on the other hand, will have to bear the burden of higher pay raises. According to the 32nd STRB report, which was released earlier this week, the additional pay increase will cost around £300 million more than anticipated.

The STRB found that pay increases for next year will now cost £1.3 billion, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the additional school budget cash promised by the government. The pay settlement also comes at the end of the school year, after many schools and trusts have finalised their budgets for the following year.

…colleges are concerned that if Byju's wanted to cut costs or focus more on short-term products at the course level, it would reduce the "high-touch" model that many institutions have come to expect…

According to DfE analysis, core funding for public schools will increase by 6.8% in 2022–2023 as part of the government's promise to finally bring spending back to 2010 levels. Meanwhile, it is anticipated that underlying costs, like the Health and Social Care Levy, will rise by 1.8%.

The findings also indicated that before experiencing "net pressure," schools had room to increase their spending by an average of 5%, or £2.1 billion, nationally. However, just next year, the new pay increases will cost schools close to £1.3 billion. This is also prior to taking into account any increase in support staff pay, which is determined separately, and any additional rising costs like skyrocketing energy costs.

The initial plan from the DfE would have cost about £980 million and averaged out to a 3.9% increase in teacher pay for the following academic year.

Posted in News and tagged News, STRB, Pay Rise, DfE Analysis, School Teachers' Review Body, Teacher Salaries
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