A FRESH round of teachers' strikes could be on the way after the leading teaching union has encouraged members to reject the latest pay offer. 

After weeks of negotiations, the government offered teachers what the NEU says amounts to a £1,000 one-off cash payment for the present school year and a 4.3 per cent consolidated pay rise for most teachers the following year.

One of the reasons teachers are being urged to reject the offer is that the NEU state the offer is 'not fully funded in schools', and that 40-60 per cent of schools will have to make further cuts in order to pay it. 

The offer will also mean that teacher pay rates in England will fall behind that of Scotland and Wales. 

Members of Scotland’s largest teaching union voted to accept a pay deal earlier this month,  which will see a 7 per cent pay rise backdated to April 2022, a further 5 per cent next month, and another 2 per cent in January.

National President for the NEU, Louise Atkinson, said: "At the end of the day we're dealing with a government who just don't understand the realities for us working in education. 

READ MORE: Union and teachers call for urgent Ofsted inspection reform

"I personally think the offer is completely insulting, particularly living 10 miles from the Scottish Border - it's ridiculous I can earn more money travelling just 10 miles away. 

"We need to all have our say on this in order to have a strong voice going back into negotiations," she said. 

A report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) indicated that the number of vacancies in schools is 'substantially higher' than before the pandemic. 

The report found that the number of teacher vacancies posted by schools, an indicator of staff turnover, was 93 per cent higher in the school year up to February 2023 than at the same point in the year before the pandemic - an issue Ms Atkinson said she knows to be true of many schools in Carlisle. 

The poll for NEU members will close on 3pm Sunday, April 2, with results to be announced on social media come April 3.

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said: “The Government has put forward a fair and reasonable offer, backed with funding for schools.

“This is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard work and dedication.”