Call to hike primary teachers' pay

Primary teaching is seen as the "poor relation" to secondary teaching, despite being arguably more important to children's development, the Sutton Trust report said.

It argues it is vital to boost the profile of primary teaching and attract more top graduates into the profession.

"There has been too little systematic attention paid to these formative years of a child's development," the report says.

"And while there are a number of exciting initiatives to attract the brightest and the best to teach in our secondary schools, primary schools and their teachers risk being treated as the poorer cousins of the sector."

Government initiatives such as offering the best graduates up to £10,000 in "golden hello" payments to join the most deprived secondary school should be extended to primaries, the report says.

Primary teachers are paid "significantly" less than their secondary colleagues, the report found.

While the average secondary headteacher now earns £69,000 per year, a primary head earns £50,000. And a primary school teacher earns an average of £30,400 a year compared to £33,400 in secondaries.

The report, published jointly with the National Education Trust, says there should be more chances for primary teachers to progress in their careers, and greater opportunities for trainees to learn on the job.

"An important reason why primary teaching may not be as attractive as secondary teaching," it says, "is not only that it pays less, particularly in leadership positions, but that it is perceived as having a less challenging career structure."