Stand up for education, again. Why?
In 2023 and 2024, your hard work and action forced real change. Our Pay Up ballots and strikes secured fully funded pay increases worth 12.4% – the biggest real terms pay correction since 2009.
However, just prior to Christmas, the new Labour government recommended an unfunded 2.8% teachers’ pay award for September 2025, suggesting schools should make ‘efficiencies’ to fund it.
In reality, the vast majority of schools would need to make further cuts to education provision to pay for it. Nor would a 2.8% rise bring more teachers into our schools or encourage existing ones to stay.
Schools cannot afford an unfunded 2.8% pay award
•Next year, schools will need an additional £700m just to cover those rising costs, more schools are in deficit now than at any point since at least 2010.
•We have the highest primary class sizes in Europe and the highest secondary class sizes on record.
•Teacher recruitment targets have been missed in 11 of the last 12 years – with a shortfall of 10,000 teachers this year.
•A 2.8% rise would not bring more teachers into our schools or encourage existing ones to stay.
•Austerity is ended in deeds not words.
You’re right to be worried – the IFS & NFER are too
Rising SEND costs will ‘wipe out’ school savings, Institute for Fiscal Studies warns.
‘This proposed pay increase would be unlikely to lead to a significant improvement in teacher recruitment and retention, while also requiring schools to make further budget efficiencies to afford it …’, National Foundation for Education Research.
Schools in England face ‘death by a thousand cuts’, headteachers say, Guardian.
Can we really find further ‘efficiencies’?
What would an unfunded 2.8% do to staffing numbers?
Could our SEND provision cope?
What would it do to your workload?
Our campaign timeline
Teacher pay is set by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). The NEU has submitted powerful written evidence already. Our members submit oral evidence in early February. The STRB reports to the government in March. The government has promised to publish the STRB report and its final pay offer in April.
We are demanding a fully funded, significantly higher pay award that takes steps to address the crisis in recruitment and retention.
If the government doesn’t change course, we will open our preliminary online ballot on 1 March and your national executive will recommend that members:
vote to REJECT the unfunded 2.8 per cent;
vote YES to indicate their willingness to take strike action to secure a fully funded, significantly higher pay award
The preliminary online ballot closes on 11 April, in time for NEU annual conference to vote on moving to a formal ballot to secure a legal mandate for strike action.
Moved house? New number?
•Check we have your correct details: my.neu.org.uk
•Speak to your colleagues about voting – get them to pledge to vote.
•Speak to ECT’s and new colleagues. Ask them to join – thousands did during previous ballots.
•Get along to your branch and district meetings.
•Set a reminder for 1 March
•VOTE!
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