3.2% Support Staff Pay Offer & Knife Crime Curriculum Call

Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Thursday, April 24th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the newly announced pay offer for school support staff and its significant budget implications, alongside calls for mandatory knife crime prevention education in primary schools.

Key Briefings Inside:

1. 3.2% Pay Offer for School Support Staff Fuels Budget Warnings: We detail the 3.2 per cent pay rise offered to council employees, including vital school support staff, effective from April 2025. Understand the context: this offer must be funded from existing, already stretched school budgets, and significantly exceeds the DfE's previous estimate of ~1.3% affordability for all staff pay rises. Hear the immediate concerns voiced by leader unions ASCL and NAHT regarding the unsustainable pressure on school finances and the urgent need for clarity on the still-unannounced teacher pay award and its funding. Analyse the critical implications for school budget planning, resource allocation, and the ongoing uncertainty facing school leaders.

   Keywords: School support staff pay rise 2025, National Employers Local Government, 3.2 percent pay offer UK, unfunded pay award schools, school budget pressures 2025-26, ASCL NAHT budget warning, Pepe Di'Iasio Paul Whiteman, teacher pay award STRB.  

   
   

2. Calls for Mandatory Knife Crime Education in Primary Schools: Explore the proposal from the Safety Centre charity urging the government to make knife crime prevention education mandatory for all primary school children within the national curriculum. Learn about their existing programme teaching safety strategies and legal concepts like joint enterprise to Year 6 pupils. Understand the context of national knife crime statistics and the NEU's view that current RSHE curriculum time is insufficient for such topics. Note the DfE's ongoing review of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance, with outcomes expected autumn 2025. Analyse the implications for the primary curriculum, resource allocation, teacher training, and the role of schools in addressing societal safety concerns.

   Keywords: Knife crime education primary schools UK, mandatory curriculum proposal, Safety Centre Milton Keynes, national curriculum knife awareness, RSHE review DfE, NEU curriculum time, preventative education schools, youth violence prevention.  

   
   

Audience: This briefing provides vital information for Headteachers, Senior Leadership Teams (SLT), School Business Leaders (SBLs), Governors, Curriculum Leads, and Pastoral Leaders across the UK.