Welsh Government rejects independent recommendation on teachers’ pay

Mark Mansfield

The Welsh Government has rejected an independent recommendation for a 4.25% pay rise for teachers, instead proposing a 3.5% award from September.

Education and Welsh Language Cabinet Secretary Anna Brychan said the higher award recommended by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body (IWPRB) was unaffordable given the financial pressures facing schools and colleges.

She said: “I am mindful of the difficult financial circumstances affecting schools and colleges and the implications that unfunded pay awards would have on budgets and staff numbers.”

The Welsh Government will provide additional funding to local authorities and schools to cover the 3.5% pay award. Additional funding will also be made available to Medr to maintain pay parity for post-16 practitioners in schools and colleges.

The Cabinet Secretary also announced consultations on a 5% pay rise for unqualified teachers, the introduction of a single pay scale for classroom teachers to ensure annual progression, and changes to protect school leaders’ weekends and holiday periods.

She also pledged funding to double the period teachers receive full maternity pay, subject to agreement between local authorities and unions.

However, TUC Cymru said the decision risked undermining confidence in the independent pay review process and warned it could make it harder to recruit and retain teachers.

General Secretary Laura Doel said: “Choosing to pay hard-working teachers and school leaders less than an independent review body recommends sets a worrying precedent and risks undermining confidence in the very process established to provide objective, evidence-based advice.”

She said ministers could not ignore the wider financial pressures facing schools.

“If affordability is driving this decision, then the Government cannot ignore the wider funding crisis facing schools,” she said.

“At a time when schools are struggling to recruit and retain staff, asking educators to do more with less while rejecting independent pay recommendations sends the wrong message.

“Underfunding schools will not solve the recruitment and retention challenges facing the profession. If the Welsh Government is serious about attracting and keeping the skilled staff our children need, it must invest properly in both school budgets and the workforce. The time to act is now.”

Recommendations

The IWPRB’s report, published alongside the Cabinet Secretary’s statement, had recommended a 4.25% increase for all teachers’ salaries and allowances from September 2026.

Ms Brychan said she would consider the review body’s remaining recommendations over the summer and intended to begin future pay review processes earlier so awards could be agreed and communicated more promptly.