Academy pay flexibility?

As The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progresses, the government has said that it will amend the bill to make clear that academies only have to adhere to a teacher pay ‘floor’.

The schools minister, Catherine McKinnell spoke in parliament to confirm that academies will maintain their flexibility to provide better salaries and conditions after facing criticism for proposals to make academies follow national pay and conditions.

“We want to create a floor with no ceiling – enabling healthy competition and innovation beyond that core framework to improve all schools and that’s what we intend to deliver”, Catherine McKinnell told MPs.

The amendment will set a floor on pay that requires all state schools to follow minimum pay bands, but it will also set out that academies will only need to have due regard to the rest of the terms and conditions in the schools teacher pay and conditions document.

However, it was confirmed that local authority maintained schools would still have to follow the entire pay and conditions document.