Schools in England get extra 500m in bid to avoid teachers' pay strike

Schools in England get extra £500m in bid to avoid teachers' pay strike Image caption, The largest teaching union had objected to the prospect of partly funding a 3.5% pay increase this year out of existing school budgets Schools in England are to get around £500 million in extra funding towards the teachers' pay award this school year, reducing the risk of a strike ballot by the largest education union. Schools had been expected to fund some of the 3.5% teachers pay increase for the current school year out of their existing budgets, which National Education Union (NEU) leaders had strongly objected to. Daniel Kebede, the General Secretary of the NEU, said the offer of more funding was a significant step in negotiations. In a letter to the union on Wednesday, which has been seen by the BBC, the government said the increase would be funded by savings in employers' contributions to the local government pension scheme. The letter said the 4.9 percentage point drop in what employers are expected to contribute will deliver significant savings on the pay bill for support staff, which will not be clawed back by central government.