Experts advising the government have reportedly recommended a teacher pay rise of nearly 4 per cent for next year, though ministers do not have to accept this.
Annual teacher pay rises are ultimately down to the government to decide, after the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has published its recommendation.
The STRB is an independent group that advises on the pay and conditions of teachers each year.
The body publishes its pay recommendation after consulting with the sector. The Department for Education can then decide whether or not to accept this advice.
How is the STRB appointed?
The STRB was established in 1991, and the sets out that members will be appointed by the education secretary.
The act sets out that the STRB will “report on school teachers’ remuneration and related conditions of employment at the request and under the direction of the secretary of state, including on the timing of [its] report”.
As well as recommending what the teacher pay rise should be, which may differ depending on pay grades, the STRB reports on various conditions for teachers, such as performance-related pay, workload and pay targeting.
Process for making recommendations
The body receives a remit letter from the education secretary each year, which kick-starts the pay recommendation process.
The STRB then consults sector organisations, such as teaching unions, local authorities and organisations representing school governing bodies.
The DfE also submits its own evidence to the STRB, which usually sets out what the government thinks the teacher pay rise should be. The DfE recommended a 2.8 per cent rise for 2025-26 in its evidence to the STRB.
The government does not always follow the STRB’s recommendations - for example, in 2018 the STRB recommended a 3.5 per cent rise for teachers, but the DfE announced that those on the upper pay range and school leaders would get 2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.
Regarding this year’s public sector pay rises, health minister Stephen Kinnock has said the government will give “careful consideration” to pay rise recommendations, and confirmed that the recommendations had been received.
“We’re all about putting more money into the pockets of working people, but we do also have to ensure that we are balancing the books, and we’ve got to work in terms of public sector pay within fiscal constraints,” he told Sky News.
Who are the STRB members?
There are seven members of the STRB. Dr Mike Aldred, founding partner of an HR advisory firm, is the chair.
The other members are Lauren Costello, Mark Cornelius, Harriet Kemp, Martin Post, Claire Tunbridge and Dr Andrew Waller.
Ms Costello is an educational consultant and cofounded multi-academy trust the White Horse Federation. She was also director for primary education and special educational needs and disabilities at the Greenshaw Learning Trust.
Mr Post, whose term at the STRB ends in September, is currently the adviser to the education board of Aspirations Academies Trust. Before that, he had been regional schools commissioner for north-west London and south-central England.
Mr Cornelius has spent most of his career as a macroeconomist, including at the Bank of England.
Ms Kemp has a background as an HR leader specialising in remuneration, and is also a trustee of the Hamwic Education Trust.
Dr Waller has had several HR director roles and has been a school governor for more than 20 years.
Ms Tunbridge specialises in reward management and has particular experience in remuneration.
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