Gap between school and college teacher pay to widen without action

Responding to the public sector pay award announcement, David Hughes, AoC chief executive said: “The 5% pay rise for schools may not be welcomed by teachers who know the cost of living is rising faster than that, but it will widen the pay gap with their peers in colleges. Colleges want to increase pay for teachers and other staff, but they do not have the funding to afford to do so.

“This represents an enormous challenge to James Cleverly and the Chancellor, who both understand that without a better pay offer, colleges will struggle to step up their delivery on the post-16 skills priorities that this government so keenly wants to address. Low pay is hindering recruitment and retention of the very people who will train tomorrow’s workforces and help improve productivity, inclusion and levelling up.

“After extensive consultation with colleges across the country, this year’s pay recommendation of 2.5% is already on the edge of affordability for colleges which are still reeling from a decade of cuts and now are being hit hard by soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.”