# Teachers win fully funded pay rise after union pressure

> The government backs down and agrees to cover the entire cost of teacher pay increases, ending a funding standoff that threatened strikes.
- Title: Teachers win fully funded pay rise after union pressure
- Summary: The government backs down and agrees to cover the entire cost of teacher pay increases, ending a funding standoff that threatened strikes. After weeks of…
- Keywords: national education union, teachers pay rise, lucy powell, daniel kebede, england schools, strike action, school funding, teacher recruitment, pension scheme, education policy, news, world
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/education/2026/sep/16/teachers-pay-rise-england-funding-national-education-union
- Published: 2026-09-16T16:55:55+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: national education union, teachers pay rise, lucy powell, daniel kebede, england schools, strike action, school funding, teacher recruitment, pension scheme, education policy, news, world
## Union demands full funding for pay rise
The National Education Union planned a strike ballot after the government offered teachers a 3.5% pay increase this month and 3% next September, but wouldn't fully fund it from the education budget.
## Schools would have to cut to afford raises
Teachers and unions worried schools would have to find almost a third of wage increases from their own budgets, forcing cuts to education spending elsewhere.

> Schools have been running on empty for far too long.
## Members vote strike action acceptable
In a snap poll, 97% of NEU members said it was unacceptable for schools to cover the funding shortfall, and 89% were willing to strike over the issue.
## Government reverses course on funding
Education Secretary Lucy Powell wrote to the union confirming the entire pay offer would be fully funded using savings from recent local government pension scheme revaluations.

> Finally, we have a government that accepts the reality that any teacher pay award must be fully funded.
## Pension savings unlock 500 million pounds
A 4.9 percentage point reduction in employer pension contribution rates for support staff freed up an estimated £500m that would otherwise have gone to the pay rise.
## NEU general secretary claims victory
Daniel Kebede said the move signals a return to reality and plugs a £460m black hole in school budgets that schools would have had to cover themselves.

> Plugging the £460m black hole in school budgets signals a welcome return to reality.
## Strike ballot likely to be cancelled
The government hopes the full funding commitment will convince the NEU to cancel its planned October strike ballot and avoid school closures.
## Schools gain 1.6 billion pounds overall
The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated the announcement amounts to a £500m boost this year plus other funding increases, leaving schools £1.6bn better off than expected.
## Key takeaway

After weeks of negotiation, the government committed to fully funding teacher pay raises using pension scheme savings, removing the need for schools to cut budgets.