Education did not feature in the Spring Statement on Wednesday (March 26) and no extra funding for schools was announced – much to the anger of education trade unions.
However, after the chancellor’s appearance in the House of Commons, the Office for Budget Responsibility increased its forecast of average earnings growth for 2025/26 from 3% to 3.7%.
This development led Jack Worth, the National Foundation for Educational Research's school workforce lead, to call on the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) to consider recommending a pay increase of at least 3.7% this September.
He said: "Teacher recruitment and retention remains in a critical state and without urgent action, achievement of the government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers will be in peril.
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