Teachers’ strikes across north Northamptonshire may be set to end following Government’s latest pay offer

Teachers’ strikes across the county could soon come to an end as members of the National Education Union are balloted.

Teachers that are members of the NEU across North Northants will be balloted on whether to accept the Government’s latest pay offer.

Following the publication of the School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB) recommendations on teacher pay, the Government has offered:

- To fully implement the recommendations of the STRB report, awarding a 6.5 per cent pay increase from 1 September on all pay points and allowances.

- To provide extra funding for schools to pay for it, amounting to £900m per annum.

- Guarantees that this extra money will not come from any frontline services, including Special Educational Needs (SEND) funding, schools’ capital, Maintained Nursery or 16-19 funding provision.

- A set of commitments – agreed with the Prime Minister – to take urgent measures to reduce teacher workload.

The national executive of the NEU, having considered the offer, have agreed that it should be put to their members and to recommend acceptance.

Should members vote to accept the offer, strike action involving teacher members in the autumn term will not go ahead.

The union will set up an electronic ballot of members, which will run from July 18 to July 28.

Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union, said: “Throughout this dispute, we promised to take every opportunity to talk to the Government about the crisis in our schools and what was needed to resolve it. We also said that, if we thought any offer was good enough, we would put it to our members to decide whether it was acceptable or not.

“There is still much more to do to ensure that teachers are properly rewarded, workload reduced, and schools properly funded. Should the offer be accepted by members, the NEU will continue campaigning and negotiating with the DfE to ensure improved working conditions for teachers and an improved education system for children and young people.”

Simon Rielly, North Northants branch secretary, said: ”No teacher wanted to strike but equally no teacher could continue to stand by and see yet again their pay eroded, their school funding decimated, and their workload left unaddressed.

“The action taken by NEU members across North Northants around pay and funding has compelled the Government to now accept the STRB recommendation on teacher pay and to accept that it needs to be funded.”