The Government announced on 13 July 2023, that teachers will be awarded a 6.5% pay award with effect from September 2023, and to advisory points, with higher increases to parts of the Main Pay Range to reach a minimum starting salary of £30,000 outside London, with slight variations to the London pay ranges.
The recommended pay levels from September 2023 can be found in appendix D (pages 75-76) of the STRB report.
Following this announcement, the joint statement issued by the General Secretaries of the four education unions said: ASCL, NAHT, NASUWT and NEU will now put this deal to members, with a recommendation to accept the STRB recommendation. This deal will allow teachers and school leaders to call off strike action and resume normal relations with the government.
How will the pay award be funded?
3.5% is to be funded from schools’ budgets. The DfE believe that schools can afford this because of the additional £2bn funding announced in lasts year’s autumn statement.
The DfE will provide schools with additional funding to cover 3% of the rise. Overall, schools will receive an additional £525 million in the 2023-24 financial year and £900 million in the 2024-25 financial year. This funding is being split between mainstream schools, special schools and alternative provision (AP), early years, and 16 to 19 provision. The split reflects relative pupil numbers, and core funding amounts, across these different types of provision.
The additional funding will be paid through the Teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG)
How will the funding be calculated?
In 2023/24, the TPAG funding will cover the September 2023 to March 24 period. For the 2024/2025 financial year, there will be a separate TPAG grant that will cover the full financial year, April 24- March 25.
For maintained schools, the funding will be issued via local authorities. Local authorities will receive the 2023/24 funding in October 2023.
Academies will receive the 2023/24 funding directly from the ESFA in November 2023.
Your school’s 2023/24 allocation can be found here.
Academy Trusts – as the confirmed allocation is for the September 2023- March 2024 period, when assessing the impact of the pay award on the 2023/24 budget, academies will need to include the funding for the April 2024- August 2024 period in the calculations.
e.g. confirmed allocation September 2023- March 2024 period, divide by 7 and multiply by 12 = forecast TPAG funding September 2023- August 2024. This calculation assumes pupil numbers remain static.
Academies forecasting a change in pupil numbers should consider calculating the April 2024- August 2024 funding using the rates below multiplied by pupil numbers forecast in October 23 census, then divide by 7 and multiply by 5 to obtain the forecast income for the 5-month period April- August 2024.
It is understood that the additional funding will be paid as a separate grant for mainstream schools in 2024/25 with the aim that the grant funding will be incorporated into core budget allocations in 2025/26 through the National Funding Formula.
Academies will receive an additional TPAG allocation to cover the April-August 2025 period in line with their academic funding cycle.
Special schools and AP schools
Local authorities will receive 2 payments for their special schools and AP schools in 2023 to 2024. The first allocations of TPAG funding for special schools and AP schools should be confirmed in August 2023, with the first payment made to LA’s in October 2023 and the second payment in March 2024. Local authorities will be obliged to meet the conditions of grant:
- Pass 100% of that funding to special and alternative provision (AP) schools
- Treat academies and maintained schools on an equivalent basis
- Provide support to all (state-funded) special and AP schools in their area
- Consult with special and AP schools about how to distribute the money
For Funding Rates
For mainstream schools, the TPAG funding rates have been based on the factors used in the MSAG calculations for 2023-2024. The base funding rates for 2023 to 2024 financial year are:
- a basic per-pupil rate of £36 for primary pupils, including pupils in reception
- a basic per-pupil rate of £50 for key stage 3 pupils
- a basic per-pupil rate of £57 for key stage 4 pupils
- a lump sum of £1,345
- an FSM6 per-pupil rate of £31 per eligible primary pupil
- an FSM6 per-pupil rate of £45 per eligible secondary pupil
Special schools and AP schools
The funding rate for 2023 to 2024 financial year is £260 per place for the September 23- March 24 period.
Will the funding cover the increase?
The government has said the teacher pay additional grant (TPAG) should cover the rise above 3.5%, which many schools had already budgeted for. However, it is recognised that schools will be facing different circumstances and the amount of funding versus the increased cost of the pay award would vary according to the schools’ current position. The school context should be considered when comparing the increased costs to the additional funding received; for example, are the average teaching costs high? Is there a falling roll and therefore a reduction in the grant allocated? These factors may contribute to a shortfall in the funding meeting the additional costs of the pay award.
Hardship Fund
The government has also committed to providing a hardship fund of up to £40 million to support those schools facing the greatest financial challenges.
The Budget Forecast Return deadline for Academy Trusts 31st August 2023
Trust boards will be reviewing the impact of the announcement and assessing whether it is necessary to reconvene to review any material changes in the budget forecast ahead of the 31st of August submission deadline.
The Secretary of State, Gillian Keegan, has confirmed the department is looking at streamlining the process of pay recommendations from the STRB to support more timely announcements in the future.
If you have any queries or would like to discuss the financial implications of the 2023/24 pay award in more detail, please contact our Finance Team:
Academies: academies@schoolschoice.org
LA maintained schools finance@schoolschoice.org
Telephone 0300 1231420 option 1
