Education secretary Estelle Morris is set to offer a radical pay deal to teachers in a bid to prevent another row with public sector workers.

Later this week she will offer teachers a three-year pay deal which will be backed by both the Treasury and Downing Street.

Morris will make the offer in a letter to the School Teachers' Review Body.

"Estelle wants to ask the pay review body to take a longer-term view of pay and to come forward with proposals for a three-year pay agreement that will come into effect for next April," said a spokesman at the Department of Education.

"The reason for doing that is quite simply to give head teachers more flexibility and to introduce proper financial planning for schools and for the Department for Education.

The aim of the deal is to bring long-term stability and end the yearly wrangling between the department and teaching unions.

"The chancellor has set out the biggest-ever increase in spending and it is important that we plan the pay proposals properly," said a spokesman.

"It will also bring stability and financial security to the teaching profession and it could have an important effect on recruitment and retention if teachers can see how their earnings will grow over the years.

"We hope it will be something the profession will welcome because it is in their interests as it is in ours."

A similar deal was agreed in Scotland last year when teachers were awarded a 23 per cent rise over three years.

David Rendel, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman backed the deal.

"Any action to improve teacher morale and the retention of staff at our schools are very welcome. Particularly when it would prevent the annual disputes over pay," he said.

"Our children will benefit from head teachers being able to set their budgets in advance and make long term investments in their schools.

Rendel warned that any long-term pay deals would have to take into account any increases in inflation and wider reforms.

"Deals with our teachers must be realistic both financially and in tackling the problems of teacher workload, recruitment and retention which plague our education system."

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the NUT also highlighted the problem of inflation and warned his members would not accept any deal being imposed on them.

"In England, teachers do not have negotiating rights and will view the proposal for a three-year deal as a way of imposing on them a deal which may be eroded by inflation in years two and three," he said.

"The onus must be on the government to sit down with the teacher unions and employers to negotiate and seek agreement not to impose. Obviously the NUT executive will need to sit down and consider the terms of the remit letter but they will have in their minds the differences between the agreement in Scotland and the imposition in England."