Appendix A/B - Combined NEOST and Employer Link subscriber results - September 2023

Combined NEOST and Employer Link subscriber results

Following the publication of the STRB’s 33^rd Report and the Government’s response in July 2023, NEOST asked stakeholders for views to inform the national employers' (NEOST) response to the Government's consultation via an online survey. The survey was sent to an agreed list of LA school workforce leads and relevant Employer Link subscribers in July, with reminders to complete throughout the summer to maximise the response rate by the 7 September deadline, with only one response per organisation.

TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONSES TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION	TOTAL
Local Authority Responses	60
Employer Link Responses	20

APPENDIX A	Survey Questions
APPENDIX B	List of responding organisations
APPENDIX C	Separate document – Local Authority responses
APPENDIX D	Separate document – Employer Link (MATs) responses

Questions 1 - 3 asked respondents for their name, organisation and email addresses.

Affordability

Q4 Broadly speaking, do you welcome these recommendations for the 23/24 teachers’ pay award
Yes	71 responses (89%)
No	3 responses (4%)
Don’t Know	6 responses (7%)

Q5 This pay award assumes a 6.5% increase to the teacher pay bill, with an estimated 3% additional funding from DfE. Is this largely manageable within existing budgets for the majority of your schools?
Yes	40 responses (50%)
No	36 responses (45%)
Don’t Know	4 responses (5%)

Q6 How will your schools manage the cost of this pay award? Please indicate which of the following scenarios most closely applies? (Answer with the majority of schools represented in mind.)
Schools budgeted for this scenario, so is manageable	10 responses (13%)
Some reasonable adjustments to existing budgets required (without impacting curriculum/services jobs)	35 responses (44%)
Significant adjustments to budgets are required, which may impact existing curriculum/services/jobs.	34 responses (43%)
Left Blank	1 response (2%)

Q7 s available for individual schools facing the most difficult financial services.
Yes – most of our schools	6 responses (8%)
Yes – a significant number of schools	14 responses (18%)
Yes – a few schools	32 responses (40%)
No, none of our schools	13 responses (16%)
Don’t know	15 responses (19%)

Q8 Notwithstanding affordability challenges, will this anticipated pay award for experienced teachers and leaders support better retention rates within schools?
Yes	20 responses (25%)
No	18 responses (22%)
Don’t Know	42 responses (53%)

Q9 What will be the impact of all funding demands so taking into account the teachers’ pay award, the potential support staff pay award (adding £1925 or 3.88% for points above the NJC pay spine if agreed), predicted rates of inflation e.g. energy and food costs, etc – what is the average projected affordability gap for your schools.
0%	11 responses (13%)
0.1 – 1%	10 responses (12%)
1.1 – 2%	5 responses (6%)
2.1 – 3%	8 responses (9%)
3.1 – 4%	9 responses (10%)
4.1 – 5%	16 responses (19%)
More than 5%	24 responses (28%)
Don’t know	3 responses (3%)

Q10 Within your area, which types of schools, do you think are likely to have the biggest challenge (financially) in implementing this pay award?
	1	2	3	4	5
Primary schools	30 responses (41%)	26 responses (36%)	9 responses (12%)	8 responses (11%)	0 responses (0%)
Secondary schools	6 responses (8%)	10 responses (14%)	24 responses (32%)	16 responses (22%)	18 responses (24%)
Special schools	16 responses (26%)	11 responses (18%)	18 responses (29%)	11 responses (18%)	6 responses (10%)
PRUs	5 responses (9%)	10 responses (18%)	8 responses (15%)	10 responses (18%)	22 responses (40%)
Smaller schools	38 responses (61%)	16 responses (26%)	5 responses (8%)	2 responses (3%)	1 responses (2%)
Other e.g Middle Schools	6 responses (16%)	3 responses (8%)	6 responses (16%)	6 responses (16%)	16 responses (43%)

Q10. Rank them in order with 1 likely to have the biggest challenge.

Q11 Within your area, which geographical locations, do you think are likely to have the biggest challenge (financially) in implementing this pay award?
	1	2	3	4	5
Coastal Towns	6 responses (21%)	8 responses (29%)	10 responses (36%)	2 responses (7%)	2 responses (7%)
Rural Schools	25 responses (61%)	10 responses (25%)	5 responses (12%)	1 response (2%)	0 responses (0%)
Inner City Provision	8 responses (19%)	10 responses (24%)	9 responses (21%)	12 responses (29%)	3 responses (7%)
Areas of Deprivation	28 responses (46%)	19 responses (31%)	9 responses (15%)	5 responses (8%)	0 responses (0%)
Other	4 responses (13%)	7 responses (22%)	3 responses (9%)	5 responses (16%)	13 responses (41%)

Q12 Do you consider that the lower increase to M1 in London and the Fringe area will have a negative impact over the longer term?
Yes	7 responses (9%)
No	6 responses (7%)
Don’t know	10 responses (13%)
N/A – not a London/Fringe area employer	56 responses (70%)
Left Blank	1 response (1%)

Further information

Q13. Is there any other financial data, or comments you wish to share

This information if shared, may, in some cases, identify the employer, therefore, we have taken it into account in the NEOST written response but not published this data.

Combined NEOST and Employer Link subscriber list of responding organisations

LOCAL AUTHORITY RESPONDENTS – 60 organisations

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackpool
Bracknell Forest
Brighton & Hove City Council
Calderdale
Cambridgeshire
Central Bedfordshire Council
Cheshire West & Chester Council LA
City of Wolverhampton Council
Croydon
Derbyshire County Council
Devon
Ealing Council
East Sussex County Council
Gateshead Council
Hampshire County Council
Hartlepool Borough Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Kirklees
Lambeth
Liverpool
London Borough of Barking & Dagenham
London Borough of Bexley
London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Haringey
London Hammersmith & Fulham
Luton
Newcastle City Council
Norfolk County Council
North East Lincolnshire
North Northants
North Somerset
North Tyneside Council
North Yorkshire Council
Northumberland
Nottingham City Council
Nottinghamshire
Plymouth
Portsmouth CC
Reading Council
Sandwell MBC
Sefton MBC
Somerset
South Tyneside Council
Southend
Southwark Council
Staffordshire County Council
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Stoke on Trent
Surrey County Council
Tameside Council
Telford & Wrekin
Torbay
Warrington
Warwickshire County Council
West Sussex
Wigan Council
Wiltshire Council
Windsor & Maidenhead
Wokingham