Responding to the IFS report, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said:

“This report adds to the overwhelming evidence of the impact of twelve years of real-term cuts to teachers’ pay and the profound damage caused to recruitment and retention in the profession.

“The Government’s proposals to increase teachers’ starting salaries fall desperately short of what is needed to restore the attractiveness of teaching as a career.

“There can be no argument that after more than a decade of decline, a substantial programme of pay award restoration is needed to recruit and retain teachers who are vital to securing the education recovery of children and young people.”