English schools warn of acute teacher shortages without ‘inflation plus’ pay deal

Figures show impact of pay on recruitment as unions tell education secretary to compensate for inflation or face strikes

Schools in England say they face an acute crisis over retention and recruitment without a significant pay increase, as the country's biggest teaching union warned of strike action this autumn without an inflation plus" deal.

The threat came as new research shows that every 1% increase in pay gives a 2% boost to graduate recruitment in high-demand disciplines such as science, maths and technology.