Why the STRB Teacher Pay Recommendations Haven’t Been Published Yet

Earlier this year, the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) submitted its recommendations on teacher pay for 2025/26 to the Department for Education (DfE). Yet as we move through April, those recommendations and the government’s response still haven’t been made public. So what’s causing the delay?

We’re in a pre-election period (known as ‘purdah’)

The main reason for the pause is that we are now in what’s known as the purdah period ahead of the local elections in England and Wales, which take place on Thursday 1 May 2025. This is the time when central and local government departments are expected to avoid making announcements that could influence the election or be perceived as politically advantageous.

The current purdah period began on 25 March 2025, six weeks before polling day, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

The STRB process: where things stand

The STRB operates independently but sends its annual report to the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson. The DfE then reviews it and decides:

• Whether to accept the pay recommendations (in whole or in part)

• What funding, if any, will accompany them

• When to publish the report and the official government response

This process often takes a few weeks, but political context plays a part, and purdah makes public announcements about pay especially sensitive. Teachers may recall the last pay review not being published until after the General Election in July although the previous government had sat on that report for much longer!

Could the government have published the report earlier?

Possibly, yes. In previous years, the STRB has submitted its report in early to mid-March. If that timeline was followed this year, the DfE may have had a short window, before purdah started on 25 March, to publish the report and respond. Indeed, Bridget Phillipson said earlier in the academic year in her remit letter to the STRB that it was the “government’s intention” to announce the upcoming pay awards “as close to the start of the financial year of April as possible”.

However, publishing teacher pay decisions during a local election campaign would have carried political risk. It’s likely ministers chose to wait until after polling day to avoid controversy.

Why this matters for schools

The delay in publication is frustrating for school leaders who are trying to plan budgets, staffing, and pay structures for September. Uncertainty about pay awards can also fuel tension in industrial relations, especially at a time of ongoing pressure around recruitment and retention.

Unions are also awaiting the report’s release before deciding whether to ballot members on strike action.

What happens next?

We expect the STRB report and the government’s response to be published shortly after 1 May 2025, once the purdah period ends. The timing may also coincide with wider announcements on school funding and education policy as part of post-election communications. It is likely that the announcemnt will come before the government’s general spending review in June. A delay until that date would cause considerable frustration to the sector.

Edapt will provide a full breakdown of the STRB’s recommendations and their implications for schools and teachers as soon as they are published.

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