School Teachers’ Review Body: 26th report, 2016

6 Jul 2016 11:12 AM

Written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan on the School Teachers' Review Body's 26th report.

The 26th report of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) was published yesterday. Its recommendations cover the remit that I issued in October 2015. The report contains recommendations on how to apply the pay award for teachers that is due to be implemented from September 2016. Copies of the STRB’s 26th Report are available in the Vote Office, the Printed Paper Office and the Libraries of the House, and online at www.gov.uk.

The STRB has recommended a 1% uplift from September 2016 to the minima and the maxima of all classroom teacher and leadership pay ranges in the national pay framework, and to classroom teacher allowances (teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments and special educational needs (SEN) allowances). It has also recommended the school teachers’ pay and conditions document (STPCD) be amended to make clear that schools can use a salary advance scheme for rental deposits as part of the existing recruitment and retention incentives and benefits. In addition, it has recommended that my department should develop good practice guidance to help schools make effective use of their existing flexibility to tailor pay policies to meet local recruitment and retention needs in a competitive labour market.

A full list of the recommendations is attached as an annex.

My officials will write to all of the statutory consultees of the STRB to invite them to contribute to a consultation on my acceptance of these recommendations. The consultation will last for 4 weeks.

I am grateful to the STRB for these recommendations and, subject to the views of consultees, I intend to accept all the key recommendations.

My detailed response contains further information on these matters.

Annex to Written Ministerial Statement

School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB’s) recommendations and response from the Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan).

[The following sets out the full set of recommendations from the STRB as published in the 26th Report (CM 9302) on 6 July 2016, together with the response from the Secretary of State for Education.]

The Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan): The 26th Report of the STRB was published yesterday. It covers matters referred to the STRB in October 2015. Copies are available in the Vote Office, the Printed Paper Office and in the Libraries of the House and online at www.gov.uk.

In making its recommendations, the STRB was asked to consider the adjustments that should be made to the salary and allowance ranges for classroom teachers, unqualified teachers and school leaders to reflect the average of up to 1% pay award for public sector workers.

In addition, the STRB was asked to consider:

• what adjustments, if any, should be made to the pay and conditions framework to provide additional flexibilities for schools and incentives to recognise performance
• whether the existing salary sacrifice arrangements should be extended to provide scope for a salary advance scheme for rental deposits
• what changes to the school teachers’ pay and conditions document may be appropriate following the introduction of new registration fee arrangements to finance the Welsh Education Workforce Council (EWC)

In making its recommendations, the STRB was asked to consider:

• the need to ensure that the proposals reflect the government’s policy, as set out in the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement of July 2015 that public sector pay awards in 2016 to 2017 should be 1% on average and focused on addressing recruitment and retention pressures
• the need to ensure that any proposals are affordable at both a national level and within the existing budgets of individual schools
• the need to ensure that any proposals are not difficult or onerous for schools to implement
• evidence of the national state of teacher and school leader supply, including rates of recruitment and retention, vacancy rates and the quality of candidates entering the profession
• evidence of the wider state of the labour market in England and Wales
• forecast changes in the pupil population and consequent changes in the level of demand for teachers
• the government’s commitment to increasing autonomy for all headteachers and governing bodies to develop pay arrangements that are suited to the individual circumstances of their schools and to determine teachers’ pay within the statutory minima and maxima

I am grateful for the in-depth consideration which the STRB has given to this important matter. I am inviting comments on the STRB’s report and my response to its recommendations by 2 August 2016.

The STRB has recommended:

• a 1% uplift to the minima and maxima of all classroom teacher and leadership pay ranges and allowances in the national pay framework
• the STPCD should be amended to make clear that schools can use a salary advance scheme for rental deposits as part of the existing recruitment and retention incentives and benefits. The department should include a section in the statutory guidance, making clear that a salary advance scheme for rental deposit is one of a number of tools that schools might consider for aiding recruitment or retention, and provide detailed advice on the implementation of such schemes on the DfE web pages
• no changes to the STPCD on additional flexibilities at present. There should be no change to the STPCD in relation to non-consolidated payments and no change to the provisions on arrangements for upper pay range teachers
• the department develops good practice guidance to help schools make effective use of their existing flexibility to tailor pay policies to meet local recruitment and retention needs in a competitive labour market
• there should, at present, be no amendment to the STPCD in respect of the Education Workforce Council fee allowance in 2016. However, subject to the Welsh Government elected in May 2016 providing assurances to the Secretary of State that the fee level and subsidy for school teachers will be commensurate with that for FE teachers, the Secretary of State should, at the request of the Welsh Government, remove the relevant provision from the STPCD at a later date

Finally I will want to ensure that we have had due regard to equalities considerations before confirming the government’s response. I would welcome consultees’ views on these matters also.