Teachers gain 2.5% pay rise

Teachers are set to get a 2.5% pay rise from April 2004, under proposals unveiled today by Education Secretary Charles Clarke.

Under the proposals – 2.5% will be paid from April 2004, and in September 2005 it will be topped up to 3.25%. Over the financial year 2005-06, this will be worth 2.95% to teachers, the education department said.

As a result of the increases a teacher at the top of the main scale will be earning £28,005 in September 2005 compared to £21,318 in September 1997, a real terms increase of 8%, the government claimed.

The annual increase in teachers' pay is not the only increase teachers receive during the year. Main scale teachers - over 40% of all teachers - will continue to receive annual increases of a further 7%-8% every September, worth on average some £1,400 to £1,900 each year at present, and £1,500 to £2,000 by 2005.

Over 200,000 teachers, more than 50% of the total, also receive a management allowance on top of their basic pay, worth between £1,638 and £10,572.

The STRB may make further recommendations on the pay increases if inflation averages either more than 3.25% or less than 1.75% over a specified 12-month period.

The proposals are based on the recommendations of the independent School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), which are published today. For the first time the STRB has made proposals for a multi-year pay award, using its new strategic powers granted under the Education Act 2002.

Mr Clarke said: "These proposals will provide real stability and certainty for schools. They will help headteachers plan for the future, help restore stability and certainty to school budgets and support the drive to raise standards in our classrooms."

Consultation on all the proposals will run until 12 December 2003, except that STRB has set 5 January 2004 as the date for resolution of the upper pay scale discussions.

(gmcg)