The UK Government has announced it will be giving the Welsh Government £23.5m to fund a promised pay increase for teachers in Wales.
As the BBC details, the pay rise for lower-paid teachers was initially announced back in July, though the finer details were only released last week.
Alun Cairns, Wales’ secretary of state, said teachers will receive £8.7m in 2018/19 and £14.8m the following academic year.
The Welsh Government, which will soon be gaining more control over pay, has welcomed the news.
“I hope this will go some way in providing the Welsh Government with the additional levers to be able to attract and retain the teachers Wales needs to educate its young people,” Mr Cairns commented.
The Welsh Government will be responsible for deciding teacher pay as of next month. From 2019/20 it will also be in control of setting future pay and conditions.
A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “Both the finance secretary and education secretary had written over the summer making the case that July’s announcement must be fully funded.
“We are therefore pleased the UK Government has recognised its responsibility and funded this much-needed pay rise.
“We will now consider how this funding will impact on our outline draft budget which will be published on 2 October.”
Documents by the DfE published shortly after news of the £23.5m funding confirmed that the amount being made available to schools to cover pay rises will total £187m this year and £321m in 2019/20.
As Schools Weeks outlines, the money will be allocated on a per-pupil basis, which DfE believes is the “simplest, most transparent and timeliest way to get the money to schools.”
Finally, more money for teachers and schools. In our opinion, it’s about time our teachers’ salaries reflect the brilliant work they do in educating younger generations. If you’re looking for your next, rewarding role in teaching, search the Eteach jobs board today.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45515388
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-reveals-how-it-will-dish-out-teacher-pay-rise-cash/