NASUWT says 3.5% teacher pay offer is below inflation

Britain / 24 September 2026 Unison petition demands ‘proper investment in public services’ ahead of Budget 24 September 2026 Britain / 23 September 2026 Burnham launches war on disinformation 23 September 2026 Antisemitism / 23 September 2026 Two men arrested over suspected terror plot targeting Jewish community 23 September 2026 Energy Crisis / 23 September 2026 GMB urges Labour to bring down energy costs as Ineos mothballs three plants in Hull 23 September 2026 Britain / 23 September 2026 Scotland leads Europe in drugs deaths eight years running 23 September 2026 Britain / 23 September 2026 Chagos deal in doubt after Trump veto 23 September 2026 THE NASUWT union demanded a meeting with Education Secretary Lucy Powell today, saying the teachers’ pay award fails to meet inflation or union demands for pay restoration.

Teacher strikes were averted after the government announced that it would fully fund the 3.5 per cent award for 2026/27 from £500 million savings made to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

But with RPI inflation forecast to reach 4.2 per cent by the end of the year and a 3 pay award proposed for 2027/28, the funding “does not represent additional funding for school budgets and the impact is not uniform across schools,” said NASUWT.

General secretary Matt Wrack said that the government “must commit to pay increases significantly above inflation to tackle historic pay erosion” and take action to “strengthen contractual protections to bring down excessive workloads.”

NASUWT called on Ms Powell to implement a fair and binding pay review mechanism with clear triggers for reopening consideration of the 2027/28 pay award.

It also wants the removal of performance-related pay progression and plans to introduce discretionary bonuses.

In July, the government accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) for teachers in England to receive a 3.5 per cent pay rise from this month.

The DfE said that schools would be expected to fund some of the pay award out of their budgets.

But earlier this month, Ms Powell said recent valuations to the local government pension scheme will see a 4.9 percentage point reduction in employer contribution rates, which should help cover the costs of teacher pay rises.

The department was contacted for comment.