Pay increases proposed by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) fall below what is needed and “arbitrarily discriminates” against headteachers.

This is according to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which states that the recommendations will do little to tackle the current recruiment crisis in the profession.

The STRB published its suggestions back in March, in which it noted that a one per cent rise was a reasonable increase.

It said that this rise was not applicable for “the leadership pay range and the eight headteacher group pay ranges”.

In its formal response, the ASCL urged policymakers to increase pay by more than one per cent, which it said would “address the erosion in teachers’ pay since 2010”.

“[We are] disappointed by the recommendations of the STRB in its 25th report as they do not address the worsening recruitment picture and significant real-terms cut in teachers’ pay,” it noted in an official press release.

“In places they arbitrarily discriminate against some members of the leadership team. We fail to see how it can be justified on any grounds.

“We are concerned about the message this will send out to members of the leadership team in general, as well as those staff whose pay will be frozen for a third year in four.”