The Government published the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) remit late on 20 December, asking for pay recommendations for all teachers and school leaders in 2024/25.
Introduction
LGA Consultation on teachers' pay 2024 – Evidence for the School Teacher Review Body
January 2024
Combined results
LA Employers (LGA) and Academy Employers (Employer Link)
Consultation conducted online with one response allowed per organisation
Deadline: 10am on 29 January 2024.
The Government published the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) remit late on 20 December, asking for pay recommendations for all teachers and school leaders in 2024/25.
The remit highlighted that the aim should be to promote recruitment and retention whilst noting the ‘historically high pay awards’ last year across the pay review bodies. The STRB was reminded to consider the government’s affordability position and the cost pressures that schools faced.
The STRB also invited to offer a view on the potential benefits and challenges, in principle, i.e. not for implementation in 2024, of ‘targeting remuneration by subject in the future in order to address subject-specific teacher shortages’.
Therefore, the following survey questions aim to extract evidence (including anecdotal evidence) to inform the NEOST response back to the STRB with the aim of influencing the STRB recommendations for teachers' pay and conditions in 2024/25.
Throughout this survey we will be using the term ‘organisation’ to represent the employer responded on behalf of Academy Trust (AT) or Local Authority (LA).
Only one submitted response per organisation to the online survey was accepted. The survey responses are intended to be reported on an anonymous basis.
Deadline: 10 am on Monday, January 29, 2024.
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TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONSES TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION |
TOTAL |
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Local Authority Responses (LGA) |
66 |
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Academy Employers (Employer Link) |
84 |
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APPENDICIES: |
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APPENDIX A |
Survey Questions |
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APPENDIX B |
Separate document – Local Authority responses |
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APPENDIX C |
Separate document – Academy Employers |
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Questions 1 - 2 asked respondents for their organisation and email addresses.
Recruitment challenges
Primary Recruitment
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Recruit and 5 is Most Difficult to Recruit to
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heads | 14 responses (11%) | 15 responses (11%) | 23 responses (17%) | 47 responses (35%) |
34 responses (26%) |
| Senior Leadership | 14 responses (11%) | 30 responses (23%) | 31 responses (23%) | 45 responses (34%) | 12 responses (9%) |
| Experienced Teachers | 3 response (2%) | 21 responses (16%) | 40 responses (30%) | 39 responses (29%) | 31 responses (23%) |
| Early Careers Teachers | 18 responses (14%) | 29 responses (22%) | 52 responses (40%) | 19 responses (15%) | 13 responses (10%) |
Secondary Recruitment
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Recruit and 5 is Most Difficult to Recruit to
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heads | 14 responses (12%) | 17 responses (15%) | 23 responses (20%) | 39 responses (34%) |
21 responses (18%) |
| Senior Leadership | 11 response (9%) | 22 responses (19%) | 35 responses (30%) | 39 responses (34%) | 9 responses (8%) |
| Experienced Teachers | 3 response (2%) | 9 responses (7%) | 26 responses (21%) | 45 responses (37%) | 40 responses (22%) |
| Early Careers Teachers | 10 responses (8%) | 24 responses (20%) | 35 responses (29%) | 37 responses (31%) | 13 responses (11%) |
Retention challenges
Primary Retention
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Retain and 5 is Most Difficult to Retain
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heads | 32 responses (24%) | 27 responses (20% ) | 30 responses (23%) | 29 responses (22%) |
15 responses (11%) |
| Senior Leadership | 25 responses (19%) | 32 responses (24%) | 45 responses (34%) | 25 responses (19%) | 5 responses (4%) |
| Experienced Teachers | 9 responses (7%) | 24 responses (18%) | 50 responses (37%) | 36 responses (26%) | 16 responses (12%) |
| Early Careers Teachers | 9 responses (7%) | 34 responses (26%) | 39 responses (30%) | 35 responses (27%) | 14 responses (11%) |
Secondary Retention
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Retain and 5 is Most Difficult to Retain
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heads | 27 responses (24%) | 23 responses (20%) | 34 responses (30%) | 19 responses (17%) |
11 responses (10%) |
| Senior Leadership | 15 responses (13%) | 31 responses (27%) | 44 responses (38%) | 22 responses (19%) | 4 responses (3%) |
| Experienced Teachers | 6 responses (5%) | 13 responses (11%) | 41 responses (34%) | 43 responses (36%) | 18 responses (15%) |
| Early Careers Teachers | 7 responses (6%) | 23 responses (20%) | 43 responses (37%) | 29 responses (25%) | 15 responses (13%) |
General recruitment and retention challenges
Where 1 is Not Significant and 5 is Most Significant
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level of Pay | 5 responses (3%) | 18 responses (12%) | 41 responses (28%) | 58 responses (39%) |
26 responses (18%) |
| Workload | 1 responses (1%) | 2 responses (1%) | 19 responses (13%) | 52 responses (35%) |
74 responses (50%) |
| Wellbeing | 2 responses (1%) | 9 responses (6%) | 30 responses (20%) | 60 responses (41%) |
47 responses (32%) |
| OFSTED | 4 responses (3%) | 18 responses (12%) | 34 responses (23%) | 52 responses (35%) |
39 responses (27%) |
| Levels of Deprivation | 14 responses (10%) | 43 responses (30%) | 52 responses (36%) | 22 responses (15%) |
14 responses (10%) |
| Pupil Behaviour | 7 responses (5%) | 12 responses (8%) | 48 responses (32%) | 52 responses (35%) |
29 responses (20%) |
| Parent Complaints | 10 responses (7%) | 28 responses (19%) | 43 responses (30%) | 42 responses (29%) |
22 responses (15%) |
| SEN levels | 4 responses (3%) | 12 responses (8%) | 42 responses (29%) | 46 responses (32%) |
39 responses (27%) |
?
Where 1 is Not Significant and 5 is Most Significant
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Towns | 35 responses (37%) | 5 responses (5%) | 14 responses (15%) | 19 responses (20%) |
22 responses (23%) |
| Rural Communities | 17 responses (16%) | 9 responses (9%) | 25 responses (24%) | 28 responses (27%) |
25 responses (24%) |
| Urban/Inner City | 13 responses (11%) | 28 responses (24%) | 35 responses (29%) | 28 responses (24%) |
15 responses (13%) |
School finances - affordability
The following questions focussed on impact, affordability, and budgeting.
| 0% | 1 responses (1%) |
| 0-0.99% | 0 responses (0%) |
| 1-1.99% | 7 responses (5%) |
| 2-2.99% | 33 responses (22%) |
| 3-3.99% | 52 responses (35%) |
| 4-4.99% | 25 responses (17%) |
| 5% + | 22 responses (15%) |
| Don’t know | 10 responses (7%) |
| 0% | 26 responses (17%) |
| 0-0.99% | 15 responses (10%) |
| 1-1.99% | 31 responses (21%) |
| 2-2.99% | 39 responses (26%) |
| 3-3.99% | 21responses (14%) |
| 4-4.99% | 1 responses (1%) |
| 5% + | 1 responses (1%) |
| Don’t know | 16 responses (11%) |
| Significant impact | 123 responses (82%) |
| Moderate | 24responses (16%) |
| Little impact in 2024/25 due to the option to use of “one off” reserves | 0 responses (0%) |
| No impact | 0 responses (0%) |
| Don’t know | 2 responses (1%) |
| Left blank | 1 responses (1%) |
Please select three options
| Reduction in administrative roles | 36 responses (8%) |
| Reduction in teaching assistant roles | 65 responses (15%) |
| Reduction in teaching roles | 35 responses (8%) |
| Reduction in pastoral support roles | 27 responses (6%) |
| Reduction in staffing – too early to say which roles | 95 responses (21%) |
| Reduction in curriculum offered to pupils | 34 responses (8%) |
| Reduction in out of hours service (e.g. breakfast/after school clubs) | 12 responses (3%) |
| Reduction in enrichment activities | 51 responses (11%) |
| Reduction in estate investment/IT/logistical budgets | 86 responses (19%) |
| Left Blank | 3 responses (1%) |
| Primary | 58 responses (39%) |
| Secondary | 29 responses (19%) |
| Smaller schools | 43 responses (29%) |
| Special schools | 14 responses (9%) |
| Alternative provision including Pupil Referral Units | 1 responses (1%) |
| Left Blank | 5 responses (3%) |
Pay policy
| Yes | 74 responses (50%) |
| No | 32 responses (21%) |
| Don’t Know | 30 responses (20%) |
| Not applicable | 14 responses (9%) |
| Yes, all of them | 11 responses (7%) |
| Yes, some of them | 88 responses (59%) |
| No | 21 responses (14%) |
| Don’t Know | 13 responses (9%) |
| Not applicable | 17 responses (11%) |
| Recruitment & retention financial allowance (stpcd 27.1) | 85 responses (29%) |
| Higher staring salary than for teachers in non-shortage subject areas | 47 responses (16%) |
| Accelerated annual salary progression | 37 responses (13%) |
| Awarding teacher and learning responsibilities | 87 responses (29%) |
| None | 19 responses (6%) |
| Other | 12 responses (4%) |
| Left blank | 8 responses (3%) |
| Not applicable – our schools use the existing flexibilities | 63 responses (32%) |
| Affordability challenges | 46 responses (23%) |
| Negative impact on the morale of the overall teaching workforce | 27 responses (14%) |
| Difficult to review/remove in the future | 24 responses (12%) |
| I am not persuaded that a targeted remuneration policy delivers in the longer term | 10 responses (5%) |
| Other | 9 responses (4%) |
| Left blank | 21 responses (11%) |
| Yes, applied equally to all ranges | 125 responses (83%) |
| No, it should be targeted towards early careers teachers | 7 responses (5%) |
| No, it should be targeted towards experienced teachers | 6 responses (4%) |
| No, it should be targeted towards senior leadership team | 0 responses (0%) |
| No, it should be targeted towards head teachers | 1 responses (1%) |
| Other | 9 responses (6%) |
| Left blank | 2 responses (1%) |
| Ability for Upper Pay Range teachers to voluntarily move back to the Main Pay range within the school they are currently working | 120 responses (80%) |
| A review and reduction of salary safeguarding from 3 years | 117 responses (78%) |
| A review of performance related payments providing greater flexibility and/or guidance | 90 responses (60%) |
| Left blank | 9 responses (6%) |
23. Respondents were asked to indicate if there were other changes that they would like to see in future STPCDs, not covered by the question above.
- these have been supplied separately
24. Further information: Respondents were asked to provide any other financial data or comments - these have been supplied separately
LA Employers (LGA) and Academy Employers (Employer Link) questions
LGA Consultation on teachers' pay 2024 – Evidence for the School Teacher Review Body
January 2024
LA Employers (LGA) and Academy Employers (Employer Link) Questions
1.Local Authority/Academy Trust/Other School Employer
2.Email address
Recruitment challenges
Primary recruitment
3. Are primary schools in your local authority area currently experiencing difficulties with recruitment of heads, senior leadership team, experienced teachers, early career teachers?
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Recruit to and 5 is Most Difficult to Recruit to:
- Heads
- Senior Leadership Team
- Experienced Teachers
- Early careers teachers.
Secondary recruitment
4. Are secondary schools in your local authority area currently experiencing difficulties with recruitment of heads, senior leadership team, experienced teachers, early career teachers?
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Recruit to and 5 is Most Difficult to Recruit to
- Heads
- Senior Leadership Team
- Experienced teachers
- Early careers teachers.
Retention challenges
Primary retention
5. Are primary schools in your local authority area currently experiencing difficulties with retention of heads, senior leadership team, experienced teachers, early career teachers?
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Retain and 5 is Most Difficult to Retain:
- Heads
- Senior Leadership Team
- Experienced teachers
- Early careers teachers.
Secondary retention
6. Are secondary schools in your local authority area currently experiencing difficulties with retention of heads, senior leadership team, experienced teachers, early career teachers?
Where 1 is Not Difficult to Retain and 5 is Most Difficult to Retain:
- Heads
- Senior Leadership Team
- Experienced teachers
- Early careers teachers.
General recruitment and retention challenges
7. How significant are the following factors for recruitment and retention challenges for schools?
Where 1 is Not Significant and 5 is Most Significant 1
- Level of pay
- Workload
- Wellbeing
- Ofsted
- Levels of deprivation
- Pupil behaviour
- Parent complaints
- SEN levels.
8. How significant are the following geographical factors for recruitment and retention challenges for schools?
Where 1 is Not Significant and 5 is Most Significant 1
- Coastal towns
- Rural communities
- Urban/inner city.
School finances - affordability
The following questions will focus on impact, affordability, and budgeting.
9. What is your LA/AT recommendation for schools to budget (expressed as an overall percentage uplift) - in respect of any estimated 2024/25 teachers' pay award?
- 0%
- 0-0.99%
- 1-1.99%
- 2-2.99%
- 3-3.99%
- 4-4.99%
- 5%+
- Don't know.
10. What would your LA/AT generally consider to be affordable for all schools in your area (expressed as an overall percentage uplift) in respect of any estimated 2024/25 teachers' pay award?
- 0%
- 0-0.99%
- 1-1.99%
- 2-2.99%
- 3-3.99%
- 4-4.99%
- 5%+
- Don't know
- Significant impact.
11. In the context to your answer to Q9, how significant an impact on your budgets would any higher percentage uplift in relation to the teachers’ pay award for 2024/25 be?
- Moderate
- Little impact in 2024/25 due to the option to use of "one off" reserves
- No impact
- Don't know.
12. If there will be a moderate or significant impact in reforecasting of budgets, what changes are likely to be considered to balance the school's budget?
Please select the top three from the following options:02
- Reduction in administration roles
- Reduction in teaching assistant roles
- Reduction in teaching roles
- Reduction in pastoral support roles
- Reduction in staffing – too early to say which roles
- Reduction in curriculum offered to pupils
- Reduction in out of hours service (e.g. breakfast/after school clubs)
- Reduction in enrichment activities
- Reduction in estate investment/it/logistical budgets.
13. Which, if any types of schools are experiencing the greatest difficulty? Please choose one option
- Primary
- Secondary
- Smaller schools
- Special; schools
- Alternative provision including Pupil Referral Units.
Pay policy
14. Affordability notwithstanding, does your organisation agree with the principle of having additional targeted remuneration to address subject-specific teacher shortages?
- Yes
- No
- Don't know
- Not applicable.
15. Do your schools use existing STPCD pay flexibilities to target subject-specific teacher shortages?
- Yes, all of them
- Yes, some of them
- No
- Don’t know
- Not applicable.
16. Which flexibilities do your schools use?
- Recruitment & retention financial allowance (stpcd 27.1)
- Higher starting salary than for teachers in non-shortage subject areas
- Accelerated annual salary progression
- Awarding teacher and learning responsibilities
- None
- Other - please specify in question below.
17. If you responded ‘OTHER’ to the question above, please add below.
18. Why do your schools not use the existing flexibilities?
- Not applicable - our schools use the existing flexibilities
- Affordability challenges
- Negative impact on the morale of the overall teaching workforce
- Difficult to review/remove in the future
- I am not persuaded that a targeted remuneration policy delivers in the longer term.
- Other - please specify in question below
19. If you responded ‘OTHER’ to the question above, please add below.
20. Should the 2024 pay award be applied to all ranges equally i.e. a uniformed percentage uplift? Choose one option only.
- Yes, applied equally to all ranges
- No, it should be targeted towards early careers teachers
- No, it should be targeted towards experienced teachers
- No, it should be targeted towards senior leadership team
- No, it should be targeted towards head teachers
- Other, please specify in question below.
21. If you responded ‘OTHER’ to the question above, please add below.
22. From an employer perspective would your LA/AT want these changes in the STPCD?
- Ability for Upper Pay Range teachers to voluntarily move back to the Main Pay range within the school they are currently working
- A review and reduction of salary safeguarding from 3 years
- A review of performance related payments providing greater flexibility and/or guidance.