Teachers in England are set to receive a 4% pay rise starting from September 2025. This decision follows a recommendation from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which was fully accepted by the Education Secretary on 22 May. This pay increase comes after a 5.5% rise last year, showing continued efforts to improve pay for teachers. The government says this is a key step towards its goal of recruiting 6,500 more teachers before the next general election.

To help fund the pay rise, the government will provide an extra £615 million. However, schools will still be expected to fund the first 1% of this increase through smarter spending and better productivity. Some schools are already saving money—for example, around 400 schools have joined a new energy deal that has helped them cut energy costs by 36%.

To help pay for this pay boost, the government is also removing tax breaks for private schools and stopping other programmes that were seen as poor value for money. This is all part of a wider education strategy known as the "Plan for Change," which aims to raise standards across all schools.

As part of this plan, £160 million is being given to colleges and sixth forms to help them hire and keep specialist teachers in areas like construction and manufacturing—fields seen as important for boosting the economy.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said teachers have been undervalued for too long, and this pay rise shows that the government wants to support them. She also highlighted that more people are training to be secondary school teachers, especially in science and maths, and more teachers are choosing to stay in the profession.

The government is also working to cut teacher workloads and improve their wellbeing, while giving schools support to spend money wisely.