How long does it take to become a teacher?

Postgraduate teacher training usually takes 9 months full-time, or 18 to 24 months part-time. An undergraduate degree that includes QTS can take up to 4 years. A teacher degree apprenticeship is a multi-year full-time programme in which you work in a school and study for the degree about 2 days a week, and Get Into Teaching does not publish a fixed length for it. The assessment only route, for people already teaching as unqualified teachers, takes up to 12 weeks because it assesses rather than trains you.

What does a teacher take home in the first year?

The statutory minimum for a qualified teacher outside London is £34,069. After the 7.4% Teachers' Pension contribution of £2,521, Income Tax of £3,796 and National Insurance of £1,720, that leaves £26,032 a year, or £2,169 a month. Inner London, outer London and fringe schools pay more, on their own published ranges.

Do teachers move up the pay scale automatically?

Close to it, and this is the real difference between the teacher ladder and the NHS one. Paragraph 19.2 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document says pay progression must be awarded, with two exceptions: a school that keeps performance-related pay may withhold it only for reasons related to poor performance, and a school that does not may withhold it only if the teacher is in capability proceedings. So M1 to M6 happens inside the same job, whereas an NHS Band 5 who wants Band 6 has to be appointed to a different post.

How do you get onto the upper pay range?

You apply. Under paragraph 15 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document a qualified teacher may apply at least once a year, and the application succeeds where the governing body is satisfied that the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards and that their achievements and contribution are substantial and sustained. Paragraph 15.4 limits the decision to employment at that same school.

Is the Teachers Pension contribution taken before tax?

Before Income Tax, yes, but not before National Insurance. It is a net pay arrangement: the contribution reduces your taxable pay, so relief is automatic at your marginal rate, but NI is charged on the full gross. At M1 that means Income Tax of £3,796 and National Insurance of £1,720, with the NI figure worked out on £34,069 rather than on the pay after the contribution.

What does the Plan 5 student loan cost a teacher?

Plan 5 takes 9% of everything above £25,000, worked out on the same earnings as National Insurance, so the pension contribution does not reduce it. At M1 that is £816 a year, about £68 a month, and at M6 it is £1,975 a year, about £165 a month. A teacher degree apprentice who never took a tuition fee loan pays none of it.

Are M1 to M6 fixed salaries?

No. What is statutory is the range: a teacher on the main pay range must be paid between its minimum and maximum. M1 to M6 are advisory pay points published at Annex 3 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document to support pay decisions, and most maintained schools use them. Academies and independent schools can set their own pay, though many follow the same ranges.

How to Become a Teacher 2026/27: Routes, Pay and Take-Home

Routes in, and what each one costs

There is no register to join and nothing to renew. You need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in maintained primary, secondary and special schools in England, and QTS is awarded once, on completion of an approved training route. Every route below ends with it.

Route	Duration	Cost to you	Funding
Postgraduate teacher training (QTS, with or without a PGCE)	Full-time courses usually take 9 months; part-time courses take 18 to 24 months. Needs a bachelor degree in any subject.	Get Into Teaching states teacher training course fees are around £9,535 per year. Tuition fee and maintenance loans are available even if you already have a student loan.	Tax-free bursaries for training that starts between September 2026 and July 2027: £29,000 in chemistry, computing, maths and physics, £20,000 in design and technology and in languages, £5,000 in biology and geography. Scholarships replace the bursary where awarded, at £31,000 in chemistry, computing and physics and £22,000 in French, German and Spanish. A bursary needs a 2:2 or better, a scholarship a 2:1, and you cannot have both.
Undergraduate degree with QTS (BA, BEd or BSc)	Can take up to 4 years full-time. No prior degree needed.	Get Into Teaching states full-time bachelor degree courses that include QTS typically cost £9,535 per year.	An undergraduate bursary of £9,000 is available for secondary maths or physics courses leading to QTS, and for opt-in QTS courses in computing, languages, maths or physics. Former military personnel training in biology, chemistry, computing, languages, maths or physics may get a £40,000 tax-free undergraduate bursary.
Teacher degree apprenticeship (TDA)	A multi-year full-time programme, around 40% of it (2 days a week) studying for the degree with a university. Get Into Teaching does not state a fixed length.	No tuition fees, but you are not eligible for student finance either. You work in a school and earn a salary while getting the degree and QTS.	In a maintained school you are paid on the unqualified teacher pay range; non-maintained schools set their own pay but often follow the same ranges. Providers confirmed so far offer secondary maths, with other subjects added up to September 2026 and training due to start in autumn 2026.
Assessment only route to QTS	Up to 12 weeks, and it assesses rather than trains you: lesson observations, a portfolio of evidence against the teachers standards, or written assessments, depending on the provider.	Fees range from about £1,500 to £4,000 and vary by provider. They may be paid by you or by your school.	Open only if you can show you already meet the standards without further training, have worked in 2 or more schools, and hold a degree. Get Into Teaching says it is unlikely a teaching assistant will have the experience required.
Salaried postgraduate training (School Direct salaried, PGTA, Teach First)	Course length and the qualification you work towards vary by provider. Very competitive, and some providers want school experience first.	Some salaried courses also charge fees, so check with the provider. No student finance, and no bursary or scholarship on a salaried route.	You earn an unqualified teacher salary while you train, and unlike a bursary that salary is taxed and bears National Insurance. Get Into Teaching notes that where a bursary is available for your subject, a fee-paying course can leave you better off than a salaried one.

The pay ladder, and what it actually pays

Published STPCD pay ranges in force, England outside London, with take-home computed through the same engine as our calculators. The pension is a net pay arrangement: the contribution comes off before Income Tax, so it reduces your tax bill, but National Insurance is still charged on the full gross. The contribution rate is banded, so it changes as you climb.

Rung	Gross	Pension	Income Tax	NI	Net a year	Net a month
M1, main pay range minimum	£34,069	7.4% (£2,521)	£3,796	£1,720	£26,032	£2,169
M2, main pay range	£36,042	7.4% (£2,667)	£4,161	£1,878	£27,336	£2,278
M3, main pay range	£38,400	8.9% (£3,418)	£4,482	£2,066	£28,434	£2,369
M4, main pay range	£40,941	8.9% (£3,644)	£4,945	£2,270	£30,082	£2,507
M5, main pay range	£43,529	8.9% (£3,874)	£5,417	£2,477	£31,761	£2,647
M6, main pay range maximum	£46,940	8.9% (£4,178)	£6,038	£2,750	£33,974	£2,831
U1, upper pay range minimum	£49,134	9.9% (£4,864)	£6,340	£2,925	£35,005	£2,917
U2, upper pay range	£50,956	9.9% (£5,045)	£6,668	£3,030	£36,213	£3,018
U3, upper pay range maximum	£52,835	9.9% (£5,231)	£7,007	£3,067	£37,530	£3,128

M1, main pay range minimum: The statutory minimum for a qualified teacher outside London, and where almost every early career teacher starts. The Teachers' Pension contribution of £2,521 at this point is 7.4%, the lowest tier.
M3, main pay range: The Teachers' Pension tier changes here, from 7.4% to 8.9%, so this step costs more in pension than the one before it: net pay goes from £27,336 at M2 to £28,434 here.
M6, main pay range maximum: Top of the main pay range. Getting here from M1 is the part that has no NHS equivalent: paragraph 19.2 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document says pay progression "must be awarded" each year, and a school that keeps performance-related pay may withhold it only for reasons related to poor performance, while a school that does not may withhold it only if the teacher is in capability proceedings. Same job, same school, £26,032 net at M1 and £33,974 net here.
U1, upper pay range minimum: The upper pay range is the one step that is not automatic. Under paragraph 15 a qualified teacher applies at least once a year, and the governing body must be satisfied the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards and that their achievements and contribution are substantial and sustained. Paragraph 15.4 limits the decision to that same school. The Teachers' Pension tier changes here, from 8.9% to 9.9%, so this step costs more in pension than the one before it: net pay goes from £33,974 at M6 to £35,005 here.
U2, upper pay range: This is the first point where gross pay is above the £50,270 higher-rate threshold, and no 40% tax comes with it: the 9.9% contribution is taken before Income Tax, which leaves £45,911 taxable. Gross pay has to reach £55,794 on this tier before any of it is taxed at 40%, which is past the top of the upper pay range.
U3, upper pay range maximum: Top of the upper pay range, and the last point on the classroom teacher scale.

Plan 5 on top, if the degree was the way in

The degree route that gets you qualified is also what creates the loan. Plan 5 repayments are 9% of everything above £25,000, charged on the same earnings as National Insurance - so the pension contribution above does not reduce them. Take the apprenticeship route instead and this table is zero.

Rung	Plan 5 a year	Plan 5 a month	Net a year after Plan 5
M1, main pay range minimum	£816	£68	£25,216
M2, main pay range	£994	£83	£26,342
M3, main pay range	£1,206	£101	£27,228
M4, main pay range	£1,435	£120	£28,647
M5, main pay range	£1,668	£139	£30,094
M6, main pay range maximum	£1,975	£165	£32,000
U1, upper pay range minimum	£2,172	£181	£32,833
U2, upper pay range	£2,336	£195	£33,877
U3, upper pay range maximum	£2,505	£209	£35,025

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to become a teacher?: Postgraduate teacher training usually takes 9 months full-time, or 18 to 24 months part-time. An undergraduate degree that includes QTS can take up to 4 years. A teacher degree apprenticeship is a multi-year full-time programme in which you work in a school and study for the degree about 2 days a week, and Get Into Teaching does not publish a fixed length for it. The assessment only route, for people already teaching as unqualified teachers, takes up to 12 weeks because it assesses rather than trains you.
What does a teacher take home in the first year?: The statutory minimum for a qualified teacher outside London is £34,069. After the 7.4% Teachers' Pension contribution of £2,521, Income Tax of £3,796 and National Insurance of £1,720, that leaves £26,032 a year, or £2,169 a month. Inner London, outer London and fringe schools pay more, on their own published ranges.
Do teachers move up the pay scale automatically?: Close to it, and this is the real difference between the teacher ladder and the NHS one. Paragraph 19.2 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document says pay progression must be awarded, with two exceptions: a school that keeps performance-related pay may withhold it only for reasons related to poor performance, and a school that does not may withhold it only if the teacher is in capability proceedings. So M1 to M6 happens inside the same job, whereas an NHS Band 5 who wants Band 6 has to be appointed to a different post.
How do you get onto the upper pay range?: You apply. Under paragraph 15 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document a qualified teacher may apply at least once a year, and the application succeeds where the governing body is satisfied that the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards and that their achievements and contribution are substantial and sustained. Paragraph 15.4 limits the decision to employment at that same school.
Is the Teachers Pension contribution taken before tax?: Before Income Tax, yes, but not before National Insurance. It is a net pay arrangement: the contribution reduces your taxable pay, so relief is automatic at your marginal rate, but NI is charged on the full gross. At M1 that means Income Tax of £3,796 and National Insurance of £1,720, with the NI figure worked out on £34,069 rather than on the pay after the contribution.
What does the Plan 5 student loan cost a teacher?: Plan 5 takes 9% of everything above £25,000, worked out on the same earnings as National Insurance, so the pension contribution does not reduce it. At M1 that is £816 a year, about £68 a month, and at M6 it is £1,975 a year, about £165 a month. A teacher degree apprentice who never took a tuition fee loan pays none of it.
Are M1 to M6 fixed salaries?: No. What is statutory is the range: a teacher on the main pay range must be paid between its minimum and maximum. M1 to M6 are advisory pay points published at Annex 3 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document to support pay decisions, and most maintained schools use them. Academies and independent schools can set their own pay, though many follow the same ranges.

How to become a teacher in England 2026/27

Routes in, and what each one costs

The pay ladder, and what it actually pays

Plan 5 on top, if the degree was the way in

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Routes in, and what each one costs

The pay ladder, and what it actually pays

Plan 5 on top, if the degree was the way in

Frequently asked questions

Pay for each rung in detail

Work it out for your own numbers

Sources