TEACHERS’ wages have been cut by thousands of pounds a year in real terms since 2010, the government has admitted.

The figures, based on evidence sent to School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) by the Department for Education, reveal that the average salary for a teacher has fallen by more than £4,000.

Across the whole teaching workforce pay fell by £4,700, and for classroom teachers average salaries are down by £4,400 — cuts of over 10 per cent.

Despite the STRB recommending a pay rise of 3.5 per cent for all teachers, the rise was only given to early-career teachers by the government.

More experienced teachers were given a 2 per cent rise and those on the leadership pay scale received only 1.5 per cent.

This will leave around 60 per cent of teachers receiving a below-inflation pay rise, according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Labour’s shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: “Teachers are right to be angry that years of Tory pay cuts have left them thousands of pounds a year worse off, and across our schools we are seeing the result in the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.

“Teacher recruitment targets have been missed year after year, with more teachers leaving the profession than joining. In response to this crisis, the government will give the majority of teachers another real-terms pay cut.”

Labour has promised to give teachers the support they need, with “ring-fenced funding” to end the public-sector pay cap.