As the government struggles to keep its own house in order, Pepe Di'Iasio says education leaders are once again navigating political uncertainty, financial strain, and the growing prospect of industrial action.

House of Cards

I am writing this article at a time of some significant known unknowns, to paraphrase late US politician Donald Rumsfeld. Specifically, who will be running the country by the time you read this article, and a decision over the schoolteachers’ pay award in England. 

Here in mid-May, a contest for the Labour leadership, and hence the role of Prime Minister, looks likely to take place in the coming weeks. This may or may not involve Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, depending on whether he wins a parliamentary by-election. 

If there is a change in Prime Minister, one would imagine there will also be a Cabinet reshuffle and potentially a new Education Secretary. For ASCL this would mean establishing a new working relationship and, most likely, having to navigate a new set of education policies. 

I can hear you sigh from here at the prospect of any more tinkering with an education system that is already overwhelmed with change. 

It is also the last thing that one might have expected after Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government was elected with a thumping majority a couple of years ago. 

After the chaos of the dying days of the Conservative government, we might have foreseen a period of relative political stability lay ahead. 

Of course, by the time that you read this article, none of the above may have come to pass. Sir Keir Starmer and his Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson may still be firmly in place for the foreseeable future, and we will be dealing with known knowns, as it were. But I suspect not. 

Shared values 

That is, of course, the reality of political life, and whatever is coming down the line, we’ll approach our relationship with government in a way that has served us well over the years, and that, I think, reflects the values of our members. 

That is to work in a manner that is positive, constructive, and focused on finding solutions. A manner that is robust when we need to be, but where we also recognise the constraints and realities of policymaking in an imperfect world. 

A manner that, most importantly of all, is rooted in acting in the best interests of children and young people. 

Running in parallel to the uncertainty over the leadership of the country, is uncertainty over the teachers’ pay award for 2026/27, and hence the budgetary implications. This too may have been announced by the time you read this article and you’ll know the details. 

But the concern now is the likelihood of a significant funding gap between the level at which the pay award is set and the funding that is available to schools to afford those costs. 

Funding: The biggest issue 

The question of funding is, of course, probably the biggest single issue facing the education sector, and is linked to everything else. 

If schools are struggling to afford the cost of pay awards, on top of the financial pressures that already exist, it is hard to see how they will be able to deliver the sweeping reforms to SEND provision envisaged by the government’s recent white paper. 

Or how they can be expected to tick an ever-growing number of accountability boxes, deliver a new enrichment framework, updated school food standards, breakfast clubs, more careers support, a revamped curriculum, and lots more besides. 

The position in post-16 education is, if anything, even more acute, with the reality of funding failing to match government rhetoric over the importance of FE, and a heap of new expectations from the sector’s very own white paper. 

It all feels, to be honest, like a house of cards. Plans that are big on well-intentioned ambitions, but short on the resources to turn them into reality. 

The answer cannot possibly lie in the government’s belief that even more efficiencies can somehow be magically realised. 

This mismatch between funding and expectations also has an impact on workforce wellbeing, and especially that of leaders. 

As we said, at our Annual Conference in March, in all the policies that pour out of Whitehall, this is an issue that is scandalously overlooked. 

And yet it is essential both to the health of our people, and to the successful delivery of all those reforms. 

Industrial action 

It is not surprising then that hovering in the background is the prospect of industrial action. 

At the time of writing, other education unions have already announced plans to ballot their members. 

We’ve kept our powder dry given that we haven’t yet seen the pay settlement and what this means in terms of funding. 

Traditionally, ASCL hasn’t been quick to turn to industrial action. In fact, it took us 150 years to hold our first national ballot, in 2023, and we are in no rush to reach that point again. 

Our inclination is always to exhaust every other means of leverage – lobbying, campaigning, the power of argument – before pressing the industrial action button. 

However, we are a membership organisation, and we’ll always be guided by what members want us to do. So, when we finally see the pay settlement, we’ll be sending out a survey to get your feedback on what it means for you and what you think our next steps should be. 

Naturally, we’ll all hope that it doesn’t come to deploying the threat of industrial action. But if it does then we’ll be ready to act. 

Before then, to continue the Donald Rumsfield theme, there will undoubtedly also be some unknown unknowns coming in our direction in the next few months. 

Recent experience has certainly taught us that. But by staying true to ASCL’s values of patient, principled diplomacy, and by ensuring that we put our members front and centre of everything we do, we continue to approach the future with confidence. 

And we never forget that – despite the many challenges – what happens in our schools and colleges every day is tremendous and inspirational. The lives transformed, the tireless support for the children and young people you serve, deserves far more airtime than it receives. 

Our schools and colleges are one of the country’s great success stories. It’s a story that should be told more often.

The answer cannot possibly lie in the Government’s belief that even more Efficiencies can somehow be magically Realised. This mismatch between Funding and expectations also has An impact on workforce wellbeing, And especially that of leaders.  

Pepe Di’Iasio
ASCL General Secretary
@pepediiasio.bsky.social

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