England Teachers to Vote on Strike over Multi-Year 6.5% Pay Offer

Teachers and school support staff in England will vote on strike action if the government maintains its pay recommendation for the next academic year.

The National Education Union, England's largest teaching union, said it will hold a formal ballot in the autumn unless the government takes urgent action.

The government recommended a 6.5 percent pay award spread over the next three years. The NEU said that amount is unlikely to match inflation and described it as an insult.

The Department for Education called the union's announcement extremely disappointing. It said children and parents would pay the price for any strike action.

The NEU demands a pay offer above inflation, which has increased since the start of the Iran war. The Consumer Prices Index measure stood at 3.3 percent in the year to March, but the Bank of England warned of further rises this year due to a significant energy price shock.

The union also wants the government to fully fund pay rises so schools do not dip into existing budgets. It said the current recommendation falls short.

NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede said no member wants to take strike action, but pay and workload issues have fueled a recruitment and retention crisis that directly impacts education.

"Unfunded below-inflation pay increases are an insult. The government is well aware that schools do not have the money to fund them," he said.

"To avoid this collision course the government needs to step up and deliver the properly funded education system our children and young people deserve."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said children, young people and hard-working parents would pay the price for any industrial action.

"We've taken action to restore teaching as the highly valued profession it should be including boosting pay, and tackling poor pupil behaviour, high workload, and poor wellbeing so more teachers stay on in the profession and thrive," she said.

Each year the independent School Teachers Review Body receives submissions on pay from the government, unions and others. It makes recommendations to ministers, who decide the final award.

The Department for Education's submission proposed a 6.5 percent pay award over 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29, with awards weighted toward the latter part.

It said higher awards in the last two years would give schools time to plan for changes to operations, provisions or staffing.

The School Teachers Review Body's report has not been published, and no final pay offer has been announced.

The NEU said early reports indicate it would not suffice for schools to prevent redundancies and workload increases.

An informal indicative ballot this year drew a 48.6 percent turnout. Among NEU teacher members, 90.5 percent said they would take industrial action over pay.