Children’s education will suffer to cover the unfunded teachers’ pay award, school leaders say. Nearly nine in ten school leaders in Wales say they will have to make cuts to afford this year’s 5% teachers' pay award, with councils not covering that in full.
Savings will have to be made by shedding staff, including teachers, and scaling back the curriculum, with some schools already facing deficits running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The 2023/24 pay award for teachers in Wales consisted of a 5% uplift and an additional one-off payment worth 1.5%, NAHT Cymru said.
A survey by the school leaders’ union found 87% of members would have to make savings elsewhere to help fund the 2023/24 award for teachers and leaders. Money earmarked for school maintenance, equipment and support for pupils would have to go, it said.
The NAHT said it had been told by all 22 local authorities in Wales that they could not offer the additional money the union said was crucial to ensure the “much-needed salary uplift” was fully-funded. "The pay award in Wales has not been fully funded. Schools simply cannot afford to meet it," the NAHT said.
After teachers went on strike over pay last year a deal was agreed giving teachers in Wales an 8% pay rise for the 2022-23 financial year. That included a 6.5% increase in annual pay and a one-off lump sum payment of 1.5%. A 5% increase in annual pay has also been agreed for 2023-24, up from the original offer of 3.5%
