Teachers in Wales to get 3.7% pay rise

An 8.4% rise for new starters and 2.75% increase for head teachers have also been confirmed

Teachers on the main pay scale in Wales are to receive a pay rise of 3.75%, the education minister has confirmed.

Kirsty Williams said the increase for "highly skilled and hard-working" staff comes after an eight-week consultation.

Starting salaries for new teachers will rise by 8.48%, with a 2.75% increase for head teachers, deputy and assistant heads and unqualified teachers.

However, a teaching union previously said the move would not address a "real-terms decline" in pay.

Ms Williams said the pay award would be backdated to 1 September, and meant an overall increase of 3.1% for the teachers' pay bill in Wales - with starting salaries now more than £27,000.

Performance-related pay progression will end and the national pay scales will be reintroduced.

• Hundreds of teaching posts to be created in Wales

• 'Teacher training application rise' during lockdown

• Teacher training target in Wales missed for fifth year

A new statutory five-point pay scale will see new teachers advance to the maximum of the main pay range in four years - a year quicker than was previously the case.

In July, ahead of the consultation, teachers' union NASUWT said the proposals would "still fall short of what is needed to redress the year on year real-terms decline in teachers' pay since 2010".

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said she wanted to attract "high-quality teachers"

Head teachers' union NAHT Cymru said an "unfunded pay rise" meant "an anxious summer for school leaders in Wales as they decide what or who they have to cut to afford pay increases for their staff - or if they even need to lose some people to pay the rest more."

National Education Union Cymru said the increase to starting salaries would make teaching more attractive to graduates but added: "The prospect of salaries tapering off as they progress through the profession means that progress made in recruiting teachers might not be sustained in retaining them."

On Wednesday, Ms Williams said: "Today's announcement shows the benefit and continuation of the Welsh Government gaining responsibility for these powers...

"This will help to promote teaching as a profession of choice for graduates and career changers."