Just before the summer, the Department for Education (DfE) finally accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers Review Body (STRB, 2023) and offered teachers a 6.5% pay uplift for 2023/24.
The government had been facing the strong likelihood of coordinated autumn strike action from all four unions involved in the industrial dispute.
As part of the agreement, the DfE has pledged to establish a working group to tackle unsustainable workload and to talks between the DfE, education unions and the new Ofsted chief inspector to address concerns over inspections.
Ministers also agreed to fund the first 3% of the pay increase, easing slightly the financial pressure the full pay award will put on schools.
Writing in the autumn edition of Headteacher Update, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said the additional pledges were a vital part of the agreement and pledged to continue campaigning to ensure the DfE honours its promises.
He also promised to continue the campaign over teachers’ pay to achieve “further progress” in 2024/25.
Mr Whiteman said that prior to the agreement 82% of NAHT members had voted for strike action in their industrial ballot and said that this figure should “serve as a major warning” to the government.
He writes: “While the proposal does not deliver everything we want, it took enormous resolve and solidarity from our members to drag a reluctant government to this point.”
The article outlines the four pillars of NAHT’s “industrial action campaign” – recruitment and retention, pay and funding, workload and wellbeing, and inspection and accountability.
Mr Whiteman adds: “Increasing workload, and high-stakes, single-word graded inspection, are placing dedicated education professionals under intolerable stress. This is not conducive to their wellbeing or to pupils getting the best possible education, and it deters people from joining and staying in teaching.”
Mr Whiteman said that he has heard from NAHT members who suffer from sleepless nights, mental ill-health and even PTSD due to the pressure they are under.
“Many felt forced to quit the profession,” he writes. “It was crucial that the government’s pay offer came with pledges on workload and inspection. It has committed to urgently establishing a taskforce to tackle unsustainable workload, with initial recommendations promised by October. It has also pledged to review all aspects of inspection.
“The pledge to review workload is welcome, but this must lead to tangible reforms which make a real difference. While some changes to inspection have already been proposed by Ofsted, much more needs to be done to address fundamental problems.”
He concludes: “Our members have told us that the government’s offer, for now, is an acceptable compromise. But we will not be letting up in our campaign for improvements on workload and inspection. We will be pushing for concrete proposals on both, as well as further progress in improving pay for 2024/25.”
- STRB: School Teachers’ Review Body 33rd report, 2023: https://tinyurl.com/ypwc3j6r