In its manifesto, Labour pledged to recruit 6,500 new teachers and the Education Secretary reiterated this a few days after the election. ‘From day one, we are delivering the change this country demands and putting education back at the forefront of national life,’ said Bridget Phillipson. ‘We will work urgently to recruit thousands of brilliant new teachers and reset the relationship between government and the education workforce.’
If that really is her intention, she’s got a funny way of going about it. Last week, I got an email from Ian Hunter, CEO of the multi-academy trust I co-founded, alerting me to a funding shortfall in the next academic year. He’d been notified that the increase in the trust’s general annual grant for 2025-26 is 1.1 per cent, which leaves it about £1 million short.
A third of primaries and four in ten secondaries are expecting to lay off staff in the next academic year
This isn’t just because the Department for Education has under-estimated the impact of the national insurance hike – although that’s a factor. The main problem is the government agreeing to an increase in teachers’ salaries of 2.8 per cent. The upshot is that all but one of the nine schools in the trust is projected to go into deficit. According to Ian, the only way to remain solvent will be to make 8 to 10 per cent of the staff redundant.
Mind you, this is the best-case scenario. Monday brought news that the independent pay review body, which represents 514,000 teachers, has recommended a rise of nearly 4 per cent. Rachel Reeves has made it clear that departmental budgets for 2025-26 are set in stone, yet the government is expected to endorse this recommendation.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in