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British government confirms above-inflation raise for public school teachers, increases investments in education and seeks to ensure budget predictability, while unions warn of financial impacts still affecting schools.
The government of England announced a new policy to value education professionals by confirming a salary increase of 6.6% distributed over two years for public school teachers. The decision was announced this Tuesday, July 1, 2026, and represents an increase above inflation forecasts, partially meeting the demands of the category.
The information was released by The Guardian, based on the official announcement from the Department for Education of the United Kingdom (Department for Education – DfE). According to the publication, the measure aims to offer greater financial stability to schools and reinforce the government’s strategy to attract and retain qualified professionals in public education.
Despite the positive evaluation of the raise, union representatives claim that the funding method is still a concern. This is because part of the necessary resources to pay the increases will continue to come directly from the schools’ own budgets.
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Government increases investment, but schools will still have a role in funding
According to the presented plan, teachers will receive an increase of 3.5% starting in September 2026. Additionally, there will be a new raise of 3% in 2027, totaling 6.6% over the two-year period.
To help pay for this increase, the government announced an additional investment of £ 1.8 billion allocated to public schools over the next two years. These resources will also be used to fund part of the raise offered to school support staff, who received a proposal for a 3.3% increase, with retroactive payment to April 2026.
According to the Secretary of Education, Bridget Phillipson, the agreement demonstrates the government’s commitment to education professionals and offers greater predictability for the financial planning of educational institutions.
Initially, the government advocated for a 6.5% raise distributed over three years, covering the period between 2026-2027 and 2028-2029. However, the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), an independent body responsible for analyzing teachers’ remuneration, recommended a raise equivalent to 6.6% in just two years, a proposal later accepted by the Executive.
Unions support adjustment, but criticize impact on school budgets
Although the adjustment was considered higher than the expected inflation, entities representing education professionals expressed concern about the source of the funds.
According to estimates presented by the unions, schools will have to absorb approximately £ 460 million of the costs related to the salary increase using resources already planned in their own budgets.
For Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), this situation could directly affect the institutions’ ability to maintain their staff.
According to the union leader, this amount corresponds to the approximate cost of 8,300 education professionals, being 3,900 teachers and 4,400 support staff.
In light of this scenario, the NEU reported that it is evaluating new forms of mobilization. In May, the entity had already approved the holding of an internal consultation to decide on a possible strike during the European autumn if the government did not guarantee a fully funded adjustment above inflation.
Measures also reach colleges and limit executive salaries
In addition to schools, the government confirmed new resources for higher education and technical education institutions.
The Department for Education announced an additional investment of £ 485 million for colleges and other continuing education institutions over the next two years. The goal is to strengthen the retention of professionals and minimize the impacts caused by the rising cost of living.
Another announcement involves changes in the remuneration of executives of educational academies.
The government established that salaries above £ 174,000 will require official authorization. Currently, about 1,000 multi-academy trusts pay remunerations above £ 200,000 to some of their leaders.
The measure received criticism from the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), which considers the new rule a factor capable of increasing bureaucracy and making it difficult to hire qualified leaders for the sector.
Despite the disagreements, the government highlights that public school teachers will accumulate a salary increase of approximately 17% since the last election, raising the average annual salary to more than £ 52,800 from September 2026 and to more than £ 54,400 from September 2027.
With this, the United Kingdom seeks to strengthen the appreciation of the teaching career, although the debate on the full funding of the adjustment remains at the center of negotiations between the government, unions, and school managers.
Do you believe that increasing teachers’ salaries is enough to improve the quality of education, or are more investments in school infrastructure also necessary?
