Teacher strikes likely to end in England

Teaching unions have recommended their members accept the government's 6.5% pay offer

Teacher strikes are likely to end in England, after union leaders came out in support of a new pay offer.

The government has proposed a 6.5% pay rise, which both sides in the dispute said was "properly funded" and would not come from existing school budgets.

The four unions involved will now go back to their members and recommend they accept the deal.

They had been considering holding more strikes next term - but that will be off the cards if members accept.

Extra money

There have been seven national strikes since February by National Education Union (NEU) members.

Teachers from the four unions have been calling for an above-inflation pay rise, plus extra money to ensure any increase does not come from existing budgets.

Inflation currently stands at 8.7%

NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted told Sky News she would be recommending members "bank" this offer, which is for September 2023.

"If members accept this deal, then the dispute we have currently with the government on pay is over for this year," she said. "That's the end of this dispute."

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Parents had to take days off work or find alternative childcare as many schools fully or partially closed during the national strikes.

And with two daughters, in Year 7 and Year 9, Sally Haslewood, from Harrogate, N Yorks, is "absolutely delighted" they could be coming to an end.

Mother Sally Haslewood says it is a 'huge relief' the school strikes might finally be coming to an end

"It's a huge relief to think when they go back in September, they should get a full year of school with no disruption for the first time in three years," she says - referring both to teacher strikes and the Covid-19 virus.

"It's been a nightmare generally for parents to try and plan around it and it's been unsettling for the children. So all in all, it's just fantastic news."

Father-of-two Sam, in Brighton, who asked that his surname be withheld, supported the striking teachers and is delighted with the resolution.

"I did have a lot of sympathy for the strikers because I know how difficult the schools situation has been - it feels like a service which has been underfunded," he says.

"But more action in the autumn was feeling like a bit of a nightmare, so to have that taken off the table is a big relief."

Additional pay

The government says it will give schools an additional £525m in 2023-24 and £900m in 2024-25, from the Department for Education's (DfE) budget, to fund the pay rise.

The prime minister's official spokesman said savings would come from "reprioritisation" within government departments.

In the DfE, that would mean a reduction in civil-service traineeships and "skills boot camps", he added.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said ministers were "painstakingly going through every single budget line and looking at where we think we don't need to use all of the money that was anticipated".

"We think there'll be underspends for certain things or certain things will have changed," she said.

"We've basically got permission from the Treasury... to shift those to fund the additional pay."

'Long-term strategy'

Unions say money will not be diverted from special educational needs and disabilities (Send) or further-education provisions - or from funding needed to ensure school buildings are safe.

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton said: "Our understanding is that a proportion of the money will come from unspent allocations that would normally be clawed back by the Treasury."

This week, the National Foundation for Educational Research warned a 6.5% pay rise was unlikely to solve recruitment and retention problems in the teaching profession and called for a "new long-term strategy".

James Zuccollo, of the Education Policy Institute, said the 6.5% award "still does not compensate most teachers for the increases in inflation over the past decade". And some schools "may find the funding insufficient and struggle to pay their teachers the full increase".