Inflation rate pay the key to stability, says Clarke

A two and a half year pay deal pegging teachers' salaries to inflation would give stability to schools in England, Charles Clarke, the education secretary, said today.

Giving evidence to the school teachers' review body, Mr Clarke claimed the government had ended the times when teachers were underpaid and undervalued. Salaries had risen substantially - since 1997 teachers' pay has increased in real terms by 13%, he said.

Mr Clarke again set out his case for a settlement over more than two years to be announced in November this year instead of next January to give headteachers more time to plan. This year he has been faced with widespread criticism from schools which have found unexpected shortfalls in their budgets.

Mr Clarke indicated that he wants to reward excellent teaching, "but in a way that is linked to affordability". He said this would involve new criteria for performance pay for experienced teachers and greater responsibility for headteachers and governors in managing performance pay.

"Teachers are central to raising standards but were undervalued for far too long. We are proud of the investment we have made in teaching and teachers. We are now seeing the benefits of this investment. There are almost 25,000 more teachers in schools than in 1997. We have more teachers than at any time since the early 80s," he said today.

"We are getting more and better teachers into classrooms. A record 24,500 graduates have accepted teacher training places for this autumn. That's over 3,000 more than this time last year whilst in 1996 fewer than 18,000 graduates accepted places on teacher training courses. Ofsted recently told us that our teachers are the best we have ever had - a cause for celebration."

Teachers' pay should keep its value, added the education secretary. "To ensure stability for schools the settlement should be at the rate of inflation. In the summer we set out the framework to the funding system for the next two years and now believe the STRB must give schools the tools to plan and manage their budgets. That means reform of the way in which pay deals are set."

An early announcement of a multi-year award would give heads valuable financial stability, Mr Clarke told the STRB, chaired by Bill Cockburn, which makes recommendations on the level of teachers' pay in England which the government is pledged to accept unless there are "clear and compelling" reasons not to.