SEVEN in 10 teachers think a 3.5 per cent pay rise would be unacceptable, a National Education Union (NEU) poll found today.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has suggested headteachers should fund the offer in September with budget “efficiencies.”

But a Deltapoll survey of NEU members found 42 per cent of teachers in England said the rise would be “very unacceptable” regardless whether is has been funded or not. Another 28 per cent found it “quite unacceptable.”

The poll also found 95 per cent of teachers believe their school would struggle to afford the pay rises without extra cash, while seven in 10 have recently considered leaving the profession.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said that the findings were “the latest evidence that budgets are at breaking point

“Head teachers should not be put in the impossible position of having to make cuts to children’s education to afford pay rises.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.