Teacher pay in England is set by the Department for Education through a national pay framework, following recommendations from the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), though academies can choose to pay outside this framework. Here is a clear breakdown of what teachers actually earn at each stage of their career, and what is changing for 2026/27.
Teacher salary by pay scale (current 2025/26 award, in effect to August 2026)
The figures below reflect the confirmed 5.5% pay award accepted by the government in July 2025, effective from 1 September 2025 and running through to the end of August 2026. This is the award that applies to teachers' pay right now.
| Scale | Role | Salary range |
|---|---|---|
| Main Pay Range (MPR) | Qualified teacher (ECT to experienced) | £31,650 – £43,607 |
| Upper Pay Range (UPR) | Experienced teacher (threshold) | £45,646 – £49,084 |
| Leading Practitioner | Expert classroom teacher | £42,689 – £72,480 |
| Leadership Range L1–L18 | Assistant/deputy head | £47,185 – £90,379 |
| Headteacher Range | Headteacher | £47,185 – £138,673 |
Teacher salary in London
Teachers in London receive a London weighting supplement. There are three London pay zones with different rates.
| Zone | Main Pay Range |
|---|---|
| Inner London | £38,766 – £60,092 |
| Outer London | £34,514 – £51,179 |
| London Fringe | £32,407 – £44,756 |
What is happening with teacher pay for 2026/27?
This is where it gets more complicated, and worth understanding if you are a teacher trying to plan ahead. As of June 2026, there is no confirmed teacher pay award for the 2026/27 academic year (which would take effect from 1 September 2026). The process works as follows:
- The Department for Education submits evidence to the independent School Teachers' Review Body (STRB)
- The STRB reviews evidence from government, employers and unions, then issues a recommendation
- The government decides whether to accept, modify or reject that recommendation
- A Teacher Pay Order is then issued confirming the award
For the first time since 2022, the STRB has been asked to make a multi-year recommendation covering 2026/27 and 2027/28, with an indicative figure for 2028/29. The DfE's evidence proposed a 6.5% pay increase spread across those three years, weighted towards the later years.
Separately, in its school costs technical note, the DfE indicated that schools can realistically only afford around 2.7% across the first two years of that period given current budgets — considerably less than the 6.5% headline figure being discussed. Analysts following the process have suggested the 2026/27 figure specifically could land somewhere around 1.5%, with larger increases following in 2027/28 and 2028/29, though nothing is confirmed.
The practical upshot: if you are a teacher, your pay for the 2026/27 academic year (from September 2026) is still subject to this process. Based on past years, awards are often confirmed mid-way through the academic year they apply to, with increases backdated to the effective date once agreed. Keep an eye on announcements from the DfE and STRB through the summer term.
Teacher salary in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Each nation sets its own teacher pay scales and negotiates separately from England. Scottish teachers are paid on a different structure through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), with newly qualified teachers starting at around £33,000 and experienced teachers reaching around £48,000. Wales operates a similar framework to England via the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body, while Northern Ireland has its own negotiating arrangements — both broadly track England's scales but with some variation in specific figures and timing.
Does teacher pay keep up with inflation?
This has been one of the most contentious issues in UK education. Teacher starting salaries increased significantly in 2023/24 and 2024/25 following industrial action and recruitment pressure, with the 5.5% award for 2025/26 continuing that trend. But real-terms pay — adjusting for inflation over the past decade — has been broadly flat or still below 2010 levels for many teachers, despite these recent above-inflation increases.
The teacher recruitment and retention crisis reflects this directly, with shortages in secondary school science, maths, computing and modern languages particularly acute. The government has explicitly framed recent pay awards as part of a strategy to improve recruitment and retention, and the DfE's own evidence to the STRB cites "positive signs" that this strategy is starting to work — though unions have disputed how meaningful those signs are.
Total package consideration: Teacher pay needs to be considered alongside the benefits. Teachers receive a defined benefit pension through the Teachers' Pension Scheme — one of the most valuable pension schemes still available in the UK — plus 13 weeks of holiday per year and relatively strong job security. These are worth thousands of pounds per year in total compensation terms and are often missing from simple salary comparisons.
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