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With three consecutive days of teacher strikes looming, the government’s announcement of its recommended pay increase for next year did little to quell the flames this week.

The recommended salary increase of 3 per cent for experienced teachers in 2023-24��was branded a��“real-terms pay cut” by teaching unions, ahead of regional strikes over this year’s pay scheduled by the NEU for Tuesday to Thursday next week.

Earlier this week, the education secretary invited unions to “move into formal talks on pay, conditions and reform” - on the condition that next week’s strikes are called off. In response, the NEU said it would be prepared to pause strike action if a “serious” pay offer was made.

Meanwhile, a government plan to introduce a teaching apprenticeship for people without a degree sparked heated debate; and a Tes investigation uncovered what the biggest multi-academy trusts have been paying their top earners.

Catch up on all your must-read Tes content from the past seven days right here:

• DfE recommends 3% pay rise for experienced teachers��
  The government has recommended a pay rise of 3 per cent for experienced teachers in 2023-24 in its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body.
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• ‘Unfunded’ pay offer will force staff cuts, leaders warn��
  A pay rise for teachers recommended by the DfE will be “unsustainable” and could lead to staff cuts without extra funds, school leaders have said.
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• Teacher strikes: walkouts set to go ahead next week
  The country’s biggest teaching union has said it is set to go ahead with three days of strikes over pay next week and accused the education secretary of failing to prevent this.
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• Keegan urges NEU to call off next week’s strike for pay talks��
  The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has invited unions to formal talks over pay on the condition that next week’s teacher strikes are called off.
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• Teachers won’t strike if DfE makes ‘serious’ new pay offer��
  The country’s biggest teaching union has said it would be prepared to pause next week’s strikes if the government makes a “serious” pay proposal.
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• School support staff offered £1,925 pay rise from April
  Local authorities have offered school support staff a flat pay rise of £1,925 from April, equating to 9.42 per cent for the lowest-paid employees.
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• A new route into teaching for those without degrees��
  The government is developing a new teaching apprenticeship for those without degrees, the Department for Education has confirmed.
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• Revealed: What the big academy trusts paid their top leaders��
  More than half of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts increased the salaries of their top earners last year, according to a new Tes analysis highlighting key trends in leadership pay.
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• Female teachers ‘work 81 days a year for free’��
  The gender pay gap means women working in teaching and other education roles effectively work for free for an average of 81 days a year, according to a new analysis.
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• Education in a war zone: a year in a Ukrainian school��
  On the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, schools in Kyiv and Dnipro reveal��the horrors of war - and the unbreakable optimism of education.
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• Faith is a barrier to discussing LGBT+ issues, say teachers��
  Many teachers say that the religion - or religions - of their school community has been a barrier to discussing LGBT+ topics in the classroom.
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• Schools need more help to tackle pupil absence ‘crisis’, MPs told��
  Schools should be given new guidance on how to engage with parents to help tackle “a national persistent truancy crisis”, a social mobility expert has said.