Written statement to Parliament

School Teachers’ Review Body: 25th report, 2015

Written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan on the School Teachers' Review Body's 25th report.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
The Rt Hon Baroness Nicky Morgan

The 25th report of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) is being published today. Its recommendations cover the remit that I issued in September 2014. The report contains recommendations on how to apply the pay award for teachers that is due to be implemented from September 2015. Copies of the STRB’s 25th Report are available in the Vote Office, the Printed Paper Office and the Libraries of the House, and online at www.gov.uk.

The STRB has recommended an increase from September 2015 of 1% to the minima of all the pay ranges and allowances in the national pay framework, including the:

  • unqualified teachers’ pay range
  • main pay range
  • upper pay range
  • leading practitioner pay range
  • leadership pay range
  • headteacher groups
  • teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments
  • special educational needs (SEN) allowances

It has also recommended an increase of 1% to the maxima of all the pay ranges and allowances, except the main pay range, the leadership pay range and the 8 headteacher group pay ranges. It has proposed an uplift of 2% to the maxima of the main pay range and no uplift to the maxima of the leadership pay range or the maxima of the 8 headteacher group pay ranges.

A full list of the recommendations is attached as an annex.

My officials will write to all of the statutory consultees of the STRB to invite them to contribute to a consultation on my acceptance of these recommendations. The consultation will last for 6 weeks.

I am grateful to the STRB for these recommendations and, subject to the views of consultees, I intend to accept all the key recommendations.

My detailed response contains further information on these matters.

Annex to written ministerial statement

School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB’s) recommendations and response from the Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan).

[The following sets out the full set of recommendations from the STRB as published in the 25th report on 12 March 2015, together with the response from the Secretary of State for Education.]

The Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan): The 25th Report of the STRB is being published today. It covers matters referred to the STRB in September 2014. Copies are available in the Vote Office, the Printed Paper Office and in the Libraries of the House and online at www.gov.uk.

In making its recommendations, the STRB was asked to consider the adjustments that should be made to the salary and allowance ranges for classroom teachers, unqualified teachers and school leaders to reflect the average of up to 1% pay award for public sector workers.

In making its recommendations, the STRB was asked to consider:

  • the need to ensure that the proposals reflect the government’s policy, as set out in the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement of June 2013 that public sector pay awards in 2015 to 2016 average up to 1%
  • the need to ensure that any proposals are affordable at both a national level and within the existing budgets of individual schools
  • the need to ensure that any proposals are not difficult or onerous for schools to implement
  • evidence of the national state of teacher and school leader supply, including rates of recruitment and retention, vacancy rates and the quality of candidates entering the profession
  • evidence of the wider state of the labour market in England and Wales
  • forecast changes in the pupil population and consequent changes in the level of demand for teachers
  • the government’s commitment to increasing autonomy for all headteachers and governing bodies to develop pay arrangements that are suited to the individual circumstances of their schools and to determine teachers’ pay within the statutory minima and maxima

I am grateful for the in-depth consideration which the STRB has given to this important matter. I am inviting comments on the STRB’s report and my response to its recommendations by 23 April 2015.

The STRB has recommended:

  • a 1% uplift should be applied to the minima of all the pay ranges and allowances in the national pay framework (unqualified teachers’ range, main pay range, upper pay range, leading practitioner pay range and the leadership pay range, including the minima of the 8 headteacher group ranges), the 3 levels of TLR payments and the SEN allowances
  • a 2% uplift should be applied to the maxima of the main pay range
  • there should be no increase to the maxima of the 8 headteacher group pay ranges
  • an uplift of 1% should be applied to the maxima of all other pay ranges and allowances in the national pay framework (unqualified teachers’ range, upper pay range, leading practitioner pay range, the three levels of TLR payments and the SEN allowances)

Finally I will want to ensure that we have had due regard to equalities considerations before confirming the government’s response. I would welcome consultees’ views on these matters also.

Published 12 March 2015