The government’s 6.5% pay settlement must signal the beginning of real progress on teachers’ wages and working conditions, says Paul Whiteman, including concerted action to reduce workload and reform Ofsted.
We have started the new school year on the back of an important step forward in our fight for improved pay and conditions.
Just before the summer, the government accepted the recommendation of the School Teachers Review Body (STRB, 2023) that it should offer school leaders and teachers a 6.5% pay uplift for 2023/24.
It also agreed to establish a working group to tackle unsustainable workload and to talks between the education unions, the Department for Education (DfE), and the incoming Ofsted chief inspector to address grave concerns over inspections.
