Teachers and school support staff in England are set to vote on strike action tied to pay for the next academic year, after the National Education Union said it will escalate in the autumn if the government does not act. The NEU condemned a proposed 6.5% pay award spread over three years as unlikely to keep pace with inflation and labeled it an “insult.” The NEU’s case emphasizes recruitment and retention pressures, saying pay and workload issues are already impacting education outcomes. The Department for Education responded that industrial action would force children and parents to pay the price and argued it has already taken steps to improve the profession through pay and efforts on wellbeing and workload. The dispute will be informed by the School Teachers Review Body process, with the DfE proposing a weighted approach toward later-year increases—an arrangement the NEU says is insufficient without full funding.