Teachers set to strike as schools face cuts to fund new pay deal

By ELEANOR HARDING, EDUCATION EDITOR Published: 14:46, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 14:56, 1 July 2026 Teachers are set to hold nationwide strikes after ministers announced schools face cuts to fund a new pay rise of 3.5 per cent. The National Education Union (NEU) said it would 'not accept' the deal, which will see teachers paid 3.5 per cent more from September and a further 3 per cent the following year. While it is more generous than the original proposal of 6.5 per cent across three years, it will not be 'fully funded'. Schools will be expected to find 1 per cent of the pay rise for each year from existing budgets, which in reality may mean redundancies. It means the NEU, which has 500,000 members, is set to continue with its formal strike ballot this October, following a successful indicative ballot in the spring. Union officials are confident they will get enough votes to hold the biggest nationwide strikes in recent memory. The announcement by the Government comes after it accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), which is independent. Reacting today, Daniel Kebede, NEU General Secretary, said: 'Pressure from the NEU has forced the government beyond its original pay and funding offer.  Teachers are set to hold nationwide strikes after ministers announced schools face cuts to fund a new pay rise of 3.5 per cent (pictured: Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union) 'But let us be clear: a partially funded settlement still means cuts to education, and the NEU will never accept that. 'Schools are being asked to find £460 million from budgets already at breaking point. This is the equivalent of 7,800 school staff: 3,700 teachers and 4,100 support staff. 'Ministers cannot claim to want more teachers while overseeing such a drastic reduction in numbers next year. 'In Makerfield, in Andy Burnham's constituency, that means 40 schools being forced to find £866,842 collectively from their own budgets simply to meet the government's requirement to fund part of this pay award.'  In October, the Department for Education (DfE) suggested in its evidence to the STRB that teachers' pay should rise by 6.5 per cent across 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29. Unions had warned the proposals were 'extremely disappointing' and could make teacher shortages worse. Today's announcement also included a promise that academy trust executives' pay will be capped at £174,000 from September. Trusts will need to seek government approval before advertising roles over that salary. Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said: 'Our brilliant school and college teachers go above and beyond every day, and I'm determined that dedication is not just recognised, but rewarded. 'This multi-year deal, backed by significant additional investment, shows the immense value we place in our teachers, while giving schools and colleges certainty over pay and their budgets. 'It's also right that classroom teachers are not seeing executive pay rise faster than their own – or set at excessive levels in the first place – so tighter controls will mean unjustifiable exec salaries become a thing of the past, helping level the playing field for school staff and drive every pound towards classrooms.' The DfE also said additional funding of £1.8 billion will be provided to schools over two years to support pay rises for teachers and support staff, and an additional £485 million will be provided to colleges and further education providers over the same timeframe. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.