TORY ministers can no longer hide behind the school teachers’ pay review body (STRB), England’s education unions stressed today, following reports that it has recommended a higher pay offer than the government’s latest proposal.

According to a leak in the Sunday Times, the supposedly independent body has called for a 6.5 per cent wage increase, significantly above the Department for Education’s (DfE) 4.3 per cent offer.

Unions in several sectors have repeatedly accused the government of using the pay review bodies it appoints to justify enacting yet more austerity on vital public services.

But the reports, which come after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said it was up the STRB to decide on pay, will ramp up the pressure on Westminster to improve its below-inflation offer, which has been overwhelmingly rejected by members of all four of the country’s education unions.

The National Education Union’s outgoing joint general secretaries, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, demanded the Chichester MP immediately publish the body’s latest report.

“Gillian Keegan can no longer hide behind the STRB,” they said in a statement.

“The 6.5 per cent recommendation does not make up for the poor awards it has made almost every year since 2010, leading to declining rates of pay and enormous problems with teacher recruitment and retention.

“But Gillian Keegan must now break cover. She must invite the teacher and leader unions into the DfE and be absolutely clear about whether and when she intends — or not — to implement the recommendations in full, or as we would argue, to go beyond them.”

Dr Patrick Roach, head of fellow teachers’ union NASUWT, said: “If the reports are correct, there is yet further evidence that the government is out of touch. 

“But, because of ministers’ intransigence and petulance, we have been left with no other option than to ballot our members for industrial action.”

School leaders’ union NAHT’s general secretary Paul Whiteman described the higher offer as “progress — but we have deep recruitment and retention issues,” while Association of Schools and College Leaders head Geoff Barton welcomed the reports but warned an improved offer is “only half of the equation.”

“The other crucial factor is that any pay award is fully funded by the government at an individual school level, so that every school has enough money to be able to afford the costs of paying their teachers, without having to make cuts,” he added.