SCHOOL leaders have called for a double-digit pay rise days after the government said teaching salaries should “return to a more reasonable level.”

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union said that at least a 10 per cent increase in all teaching salaries is needed to counter the sector’s recruitment and retention crisis.

Its analysis of school data has shown that staff vacancies more than doubled between 2020 and 2022, from 1,098 to 2,334.