With the General Election now having been called for July 4th there has been speculation as to what impact this might have on the annual teachers’ pay review process.
It is understood that the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) presented their annual report and recommendations to the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, earlier in May.
Despite reports that the STRB’s recommendations have been leaked and pressure from the Teaching Unions to release the STRB report prior to the Election, at this stage Gillian Keegan has indicated that the report will remain confidential and the review process will proceed in line with its usual timeframes.
In recent years the STRB report and Government response hasn’t generally been published until towards the end of the Summer term in July. If this is the case again this year, it would be for the post election Government to announce any pay increase for this September. However it remains to be seen whether pressure from the Teaching Unions will force the Government to revisit this position.
It is also uncertain as to whether the final recommendations from the Teacher Workload Reduction Workforce, which were due to be published in March, will be made known before the election. Further details are also awaited on the Government’s commitment to review and replace the current guidance surrounding teacher appraisal and performance management. Again, it remains to be seen whether these initiatives will now be ‘parked’ until after the election.
