Schools to fund part of teachers' pay rise as government backs deal

Schools will have to meet the first 1% of each annual teachers’ pay rise from existing budgets after the government backed a three-year settlement for England’s classrooms. Teachers are due a 3.5% rise from September 2026, followed by 3.0% from September 2027, with an indicative 3.0% for September 2028.

The Department for Education will add £1.8bn over two years to help fund the package, but the deal still leaves headteachers to absorb part of the bill themselves. So every school will have to find savings or shift money away from other priorities to cover the gap.

The School Teachers’ Review Body said the headline increases add up to 9.8% over three years and should apply uniformly to teachers and leaders. It also recommended lifting the unqualified teacher range minimum in the rest of England by 5% in September 2026, partly to reduce the risk of that rate falling below the national living wage. The government’s own evidence to the review body had originally argued for a 6.5% rise across the 2026/27 to 2028/29 period, so the final settlement is lower than the Department for Education’s opening position.

The School Teachers’ Review Body said the headline increases add up to 9.8% over three years and should apply uniformly to teachers and leaders. It also recommended lifting the unqualified teacher range minimum in the rest of England by 5% in September 2026, partly to reduce the risk of that rate falling below the national living wage. The government’s own evidence to the review body had originally argued for a 6.5% rise across the 2026/27 to 2028/29 period, so the final settlement is lower than the Department for Education’s opening position.

Unions have already taken a hard line. The National Education Union had warned it could ballot for strike action unless ministers came forward with a fully funded, above-inflation offer, while the National Association of Head Teachers has backed industrial action ballots over teacher pay. Both have argued that another settlement leaving schools to pick up part of the cost will hit morale and make it harder to recruit and keep staff.

The pay round was formally set in motion by Bridget Phillipson’s remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body on 22 July 2025. It follows last year’s 4% award for 2025/26, which was also accepted by the government.