Bridget Phillipson said the government will accept the School Teachers’ Review Body recommendation for a teacher pay rise 2026 worth 6.6% over two years, starting with 3.5% from September. Teachers in England will then get a further 3% next year, while state schools will be given £1.8bn over two years to help cover the bill.
The Department for Education said the award will take the average school teacher salary to more than £52,800 from September and to more than £54,400 from September 2027. It also said school teachers will have a cumulative 17% pay increase since the last election.
Bridget Phillipson and the STRB
Phillipson had asked the School Teachers’ Review Body to support a 6.5% award spread over 2026-27 to 2028-29, and she set out the government’s decision after the body’s recommendation was accepted. She said: “This multi-year deal, backed by significant additional investment, shows the immense value we place in our teachers, while giving schools and colleges certainty over pay and their budgets.”
The deal also includes a 3.3% pay rise for support staff, back-dated to April. The Department for Education said colleges and other further education providers will receive an extra £485m over two years for staff retention, while academy executive pay will be capped at £174,000 and higher salaries will need government approval.
Daniel Kebede and school budgets
Daniel Kebede said schools were being asked to find £460m from budgets already at breaking point. He said that was the equivalent of 8,300 school staff, including 3,900 teachers and 4,400 support staff.
Education unions said schools needed to fund nearly a third of the wage increases from existing budgets, even after the extra £1.8bn. That leaves headteachers and trust leaders with a split bill: part covered by government money, part absorbed inside current spending plans.
NEU strike ballot
The National Education Union is considering its options over industrial action after In May the National Education Union voted to hold a strike ballot in the autumn unless the government committed to a fully funded, above-inflation pay award. The new settlement addresses the size of the award, but not the union’s funding demand.
For schools, the practical next step is budget planning for September 2026 and September 2027. The award is set, the extra funding is limited, and the gap between those two figures is now the part that schools will have to manage.
