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Dear Secretary of State
I am writing to you to express my deep concern that you are playing politics with the effective functioning of schools and are showing complete disregard to the responsibilities you have to school leaders, teachers, and pupils.
The School Teachers’ Review Body, which outlines recommendations for the teachers' pay award for 2024/25, has confirmed that their report was issued to you as Secretary of State for Education some ten days ago. It is crucial that you publish the findings and provide clarity and stability for our educators and school leaders.
In July last year, following historic strike action, you committed to accelerating the announcement of the pay rise and corresponding Government funding to allow schools time to set budgets. Despite this promise, you have once again missed your own deadline. This delay leaves teachers uncertain about their future pay and forces headteachers to plan budgets without critical information.
The Prime Minister’s decision yesterday to call a General Election has only exacerbated this issue. There is now a very limited window to publish the STRB report before Parliament is dissolved on 30 May.
There is now no excuse not to publish the STRB report.
Failure to do so will leave the decision on the teacher pay award for September 2024 to an incoming government. This will hinder school leaders' ability to plan ahead and potentially delay critical decisions. Furthermore, it means that teachers in English state-funded schools will go to the polls on 4 July without knowing their prospective pay for the coming academic year.
In light of your commitments last July and the impending general election, failure to publish the report would constitute a very serious act of bad faith and show disregard for the responsibilities that come with your position in government. It is imperative that we avoid politicising this issue and act with integrity. We must prioritise the needs of teachers, school leaders, pupils, and parents.
I urge you to honour your promise and publish the STRB report before it is too late. Our educators deserve clarity, not political games.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Daniel Kebede
General Secretary