Private school staff are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis, according to a survey of almost 3,000 teacher and support staff NEU members working in independent schools.
- More than a fifth of respondents working in private schools have had a pay freeze, with only 2% receiving a salary increase to match inflation.
- One in ten teachers and one in seven support staff have taken on a second job.
- 68% of support staff continue to be paid for term-times only.
Replying to the National Education Union’s 2023 Independent Sector Pay & Conditions Survey, 43% of teachers stated that the cost-of-living crisis had affected their standard of living ‘a lot’. A further 52% replied that their standard of living had been adversely affected ‘a little’, with just a fortunate 4% saying ‘not at all’.
Support staff have been harder hit. More than half of all respondents (54%) stated that the cost-of-living crisis was affecting them ‘a lot’, 42% ‘a little’, and 4% ‘not at all’.
In a worrying development, financial concerns are forcing independent schoolteachers and support staff to take on additional paid work to make ends meet.
29% of teachers and 27% of support staff members stated that they had taken on additional paid work.
10% of all teachers said that they had taken on a second job, 16% additional private tuition, and 3% overtime. For support staff, 14.3% had taken on a second job; 5.2% private tuition; and 7.4% overtime.
The NEU survey reveals that the root of the problem is a significant gap between wage increases and inflation.
For the current academic year, September 2022 to August 2023, just 2% of teachers and support staff working in independent schools received a cost-of-living increase that at least matched inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index September 2022*.
Worse still, 25% of support staff and 21% of teachers working in private schools had their pay frozen.
A further problem for support staff is that more than two thirds (68%) are paid for term times only, leaving their take-home pay even lower.
Many teachers working in the independent sector face further woe as their employers continue to consider leaving the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), with many employers opting for a phased withdrawal by closing the scheme to new entrants.
Just over half of teachers (53%) said that their employer currently offers TPS to existing and future staff, with 47% saying that they did not. But in a salutary warning to independent sector employers, 88% of independent schoolteachers said that TPS is an important factor in deciding where they work.
Commenting on the survey results, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“This survey confirms the reach of the cost-of-living crisis on working people.
“The NEU is greatly concerned that our members working in the independent sector are being forced to take additional jobs. It is worrying that teachers and support staff, who already have heavy workloads in their main job, are unable to make ends meet.
“Independent school employers need to do better by their staff. We know from our previous annual surveys that pay awards in the sector have consistently failed to keep pace with inflation.
“The current cost of living crisis has shone a spotlight on this failure.
“We call upon independent school employers to make one-off payments for this current academic year to ameliorate staff suffering. Further, to make an award for 2023/24 that at least matches inflation as measured by the Retail Price index.
“The NEU will not stand by. We call upon all members working in the independent sector to take action: put in a collective pay claim and join the NEU independent sector pay campaign.”
ENDS
2023-059-NEU