EDUCATION unions have written to Education Minister Bridget Phillipson to raise concerns about inadequate and underfunded pay recommendations outlined by her department.

The Department for Education submitted its recommendations to the School Teachers’ Review Body on Tuesday, proposing a pay increase of 2.8 per cent next September.

In a letter to Ms Phillipson today, the ASCL, NAHT, NASUWT and NEU general secretaries raised concerns that the proposals would “further damage teacher recruitment and retention in England and lead to more school cuts.”

“Teacher shortages across the school system are damaging pupils’ life chances,” the letter said.

“We are further concerned that the publication of your proposals will result in schools making premature decisions that could adversely affect the jobs of teachers and support staff and provision for pupils.

“The government must not cut schools’ spending power any further because after 14 years of austerity — England now has the largest class sizes in Europe, the highest secondary class sizes on record and more than a million pupils taught in classes of more than 30.”