UK Teacher Salary 2026/27: STPCD Pay Scales & Take-Home
UK teacher pay 2026/27: M1-M6 and UPS, London weighting, TLR additions, pension contributions and take-home for every pay point.
Overview of UK teacher pay
Teacher pay in England is set through the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), a statutory document published by the Department for Education. Maintained schools must follow it; academies are not bound by it, though many follow it. The framework sets pay ranges for classroom teachers (the Main Pay Range, M1 to M6, and the Upper Pay Range, U1 to U3), a Leading Practitioner range, and the Leadership group range for heads, deputies and assistant heads. Each range exists in four versions, one for each geographic area: Inner London, Outer London, the Fringe, and the rest of England.
The annual award follows a recommendation from the School Teachers Review Body (STRB), an independent body that advises on the pay of school teachers in England. It takes evidence from the DfE and consultees including the teaching and leadership unions (NEU, NASUWT, NAHT, ASCL); the government then decides whether to accept. The 4% award from September 2025 followed the STRB's 35th report, published 22 May 2025 and accepted in full. The 3.5% award from 1 September 2026 followed the 36th report, published and accepted in full on 1 July 2026.
Beyond the base range, a school can pay Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments, a Special Educational Needs (SEN) allowance, and recruitment and retention incentives. A qualified teacher can apply to be paid on the Upper Pay Range at least once a year. Under STPCD 2025 paragraph 15.2 the application succeeds where the school is satisfied that the teacher is "highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards" and that their "achievements and contribution to an educational setting or settings are substantial and sustained". How a teacher then moves from U1 to U3 is set by each school's pay policy.
Pay scales by area
Annual gross pay. The scales in force from 1 September 2026: the 3.5% award the Secretary of State accepted in full. The STPCD 2026 that will restate them has not been published yet. Its timing varies: the 2023 and 2024 documents appeared in October and the 2025 one on 18 July 2025, each applying from 1 September. The STPCD fixes the minimum and maximum of each range; the points between them are advisory points, which most schools use but which a school's own pay policy can depart from.
Main Pay Range (M1 to M6)
Six points. New entrants usually start at M1 (Early Career Teacher year 1), and progression through the range is set by the school's pay policy, usually one point a year. M6 is the top of the Main Pay Range.
| Spine point | Inner London | Outer London | Fringe | Rest of England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 (statutory minimum) | £41,729 | £39,196 | £35,602 | £34,069 |
| M2 | £43,713 | £41,246 | £37,647 | £36,042 |
| M3 | £45,787 | £43,403 | £39,979 | £38,400 |
| M4 | £47,961 | £45,673 | £42,513 | £40,941 |
| M5 | £50,666 | £48,438 | £45,070 | £43,529 |
| M6 | £54,131 | £52,241 | £48,479 | £46,940 |
Upper Pay Range (U1 to U3)
Three points, reached by a successful application to be paid on the upper pay range (STPCD 2025 paragraph 15). Progression between U1, U2 and U3 follows the school's pay policy.
| Spine point | Inner London | Outer London | Fringe | Rest of England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U1 (statutory minimum) | £59,650 | £54,047 | £50,625 | £49,134 |
| U2 | £62,581 | £56,047 | £52,442 | £50,956 |
| U3 (statutory maximum) | £64,684 | £58,120 | £54,328 | £52,835 |
Leading Practitioner range
For posts whose primary purpose is modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills. The school sets an individual pay range for each such post within these limits (STPCD 2025 paragraph 16).
| Range boundary | Inner London | Outer London | Fringe | Rest of England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leading practitioner minimum | £64,024 | £58,120 | £55,332 | £53,847 |
| Leading practitioner maximum | £92,043 | £86,136 | £83,347 | £81,861 |
Source: STRB 36th Report 2026, Appendix F, "Recommended pay levels from 1 September 2026", accepted in full.
Four-area London weighting explained
The STPCD does not add a separate London weighting allowance the way the NHS does. Each of the four areas has its own pay range, so the uplift is built into a single consolidated, pensionable salary. On M6 the difference between Rest of England (£46,940) and Inner London (£54,131) is £7,191 a year, about £599 a month gross. After Income Tax, National Insurance on the full gross, and Teachers Pension (8.9% at the Rest of England salary, 9.9% at the Inner London one), the take-home difference is £4,464 a year.
The areas are defined by borough and district in Annex 2 (Interpretation) of the STPCD 2025, not by travel zone:
- Inner London: Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Camden, City of London, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster.
- Outer London: Barnet, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest.
- Fringe: the whole of Surrey; Bracknell Forest, Slough and Windsor and Maidenhead (Berkshire); South Buckinghamshire and Chiltern (Buckinghamshire); Basildon, Brentwood, Epping Forest, Harlow and Thurrock (Essex); Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, St Albans, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield (Hertfordshire); Dartford and Sevenoaks (Kent); and Crawley (West Sussex).
- Rest of England: everywhere else.
Pay does not automatically follow a teacher to a new school. A decision to pay a teacher on the upper pay range "applies only to employment in that same school" (STPCD 2025 paragraph 15.4), and the new school sets pay under its own policy. Pension contributions follow gross salary, so on M6 an Inner London teacher pays £5,359 a year into TPS against £4,178 in the rest of England, a difference of £1,181, and builds a correspondingly larger pension.
TLR and additional payments
A Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payment is paid to a classroom teacher for a significant additional responsibility that is focused on teaching and learning (STPCD 2025 paragraph 20). The school sets the value within the range. From 1 September 2026:
- TLR1: £10,531 to £17,819 a year. Before awarding one, the school must be satisfied the responsibility includes line management of a significant number of people.
- TLR2: £3,651 to £8,913 a year. A teacher cannot hold a TLR1 and a TLR2 at the same time.
- TLR3: £727 to £3,600 a year. Fixed-term, for clearly time-limited school improvement projects or one-off externally driven responsibilities, and can be held alongside a TLR1 or TLR2.
TLR payments are taxable, NIable and pensionable, and they count towards the TPS contribution tier. A teacher on M6 (£46,940) with the minimum TLR2 of £3,651 has pensionable pay of £50,591, which moves them from the 8.9% tier to the 9.9% tier. The tier rate applies to the whole salary, so the TLR raises the contribution on the base pay as well as on the allowance. For the full take-home effect of each TLR level see the TLR payments guide.
Other STPCD payments include the SEN allowance (£2,885 to £5,690 a year from 1 September 2026), which must be paid in the circumstances set out in paragraph 21, including a SEN post that requires a mandatory SEN qualification and posts in a special school. Recruitment and retention incentives are at the school's discretion and must be reviewed regularly (paragraph 27). An acting allowance applies where a teacher carries out the duties of a head, deputy head or assistant head without being appointed to the role: the school must decide within four weeks whether to pay one, and if it does, the amount is what it considers appropriate, with total pay no lower than the minimum of that post's pay range (paragraph 23).
Take-home: four areas compared
Annual take-home at four scale points in each area, after Income Tax, National Insurance and the Teachers Pension contribution at the tier for that salary. The contribution is treated as a net pay arrangement: it reduces taxable pay, and National Insurance is charged on the full gross. Income Tax and NI use the 2026/27 rates for England; no student loan.
| Scale point | Inner London | Outer London | Fringe | Rest of England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 - ECT year 1 (statutory minimum) | £30,593 £2,549/mo · gross £41,729 · TPS 8.9% | £28,950 £2,413/mo · gross £39,196 · TPS 8.9% | £27,045 £2,254/mo · gross £35,602 · TPS 7.4% | £26,032 £2,169/mo · gross £34,069 · TPS 7.4% |
| M6 - top of main pay range | £38,438 £3,203/mo · gross £54,131 · TPS 9.9% | £37,114 £3,093/mo · gross £52,241 · TPS 9.9% | £34,973 £2,914/mo · gross £48,479 · TPS 8.9% | £33,974 £2,831/mo · gross £46,940 · TPS 8.9% |
| U1 - first point of upper pay range | £41,396 £3,450/mo · gross £59,650 · TPS 10.5% | £38,380 £3,198/mo · gross £54,047 · TPS 9.9% | £35,981 £2,998/mo · gross £50,625 · TPS 9.9% | £35,005 £2,917/mo · gross £49,134 · TPS 9.9% |
| U3 - top of upper pay range | £43,999 £3,667/mo · gross £64,684 · TPS 10.5% | £40,605 £3,384/mo · gross £58,120 · TPS 10.5% | £38,576 £3,215/mo · gross £54,328 · TPS 9.9% | £37,530 £3,128/mo · gross £52,835 · TPS 9.9% |
At M1 the Inner London take-home advantage over Rest of England is £4,561 a year (about £380 a month), against a gross difference of £7,660. Both salaries are taxed at the basic rate only. Part of the gap goes on the higher TPS tier (8.9% against 7.4%), which is charged on the whole Inner London salary.
Teachers Pension Scheme
The Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS) career average scheme is a defined benefit scheme administered by Teachers Pensions. Each year a member builds a pension of 1/57th of that year's pensionable earnings, revalued each year in line with inflation plus a further 1.6% while the member is active (Teachers Pensions). Normal Pension Age in the career average scheme is the member's State Pension Age or 65, whichever is higher (Teachers Pensions glossary).
Member contributions are tiered by annual salary rate. The table shows the tiers in force from 1 April 2026, as published by Teachers Pensions. The rate for a teacher's tier applies to all of their pensionable pay, not only the part above the tier threshold.
| Tier | Annual salary rate from | to | Contribution rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | £0 | £36,198.99 | 7.4% |
| Tier 2 | £36,199.00 | £48,727.99 | 8.9% |
| Tier 3 | £48,728.00 | £57,776.99 | 9.9% |
| Tier 4 | £57,777.00 | £76,572.99 | 10.5% |
| Tier 5 | £76,573.00 | £104,413.99 | 11.6% |
| Tier 6 | £104,414.00 | and above | 12% |
The employer contributes 28.68% of pensionable pay, including a 0.08% administration levy. Added to the member's 7.4% to 12%, total contributions are well above the auto-enrolment minimum for a defined contribution scheme, reflecting the cost of a guaranteed, inflation-linked pension.
Member contributions are deducted under a net pay arrangement: the contribution comes out of pay before Income Tax is calculated, so relief is given automatically at the teacher's marginal rate. National Insurance is charged on the full gross before the deduction, so there is no NI relief (HMRC NIM02365). Salary sacrifice works differently in TPS: for the schemes the STPCD recognises (childcare vouchers and cycle schemes), contributions continue on the full pre-sacrifice salary, while any other sacrifice reduces the salary that contributions and benefits are based on (Teachers Pensions).
Career progression: worked example
A Rest of England teacher who progresses one point a year moves through M1 (ECT year 1) and M2 (ECT year 2), then M3 to M6 over the next four years. The Upper Pay Range follows a successful application. Take-home below uses the Rest of England scale, 2026/27 rates for England, and the Teachers Pension contribution for each salary, run as a net pay arrangement (Income Tax relief on the contribution, National Insurance on the full gross).
| Scale point | Gross | Pension rate | Pension £ | Income Tax | NI | Annual take-home | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECT M1 - first year of teaching (RoE) | £34,069 | 7.4% | £2,521 | £3,796 | £1,720 | £26,032 | £2,169 |
| ECT M2 - second year | £36,042 | 7.4% | £2,667 | £4,161 | £1,878 | £27,336 | £2,278 |
| M6 - established teacher (RoE) | £46,940 | 8.9% | £4,178 | £6,038 | £2,750 | £33,974 | £2,831 |
| U3 - top of upper pay range (RoE) | £52,835 | 9.9% | £5,231 | £7,007 | £3,067 | £37,530 | £3,128 |
The M1 to M2 step adds £1,973 gross and £1,304 take-home: 20% Income Tax, 8% NI and 7.4% TPS, with no change of tier. The M6 to U3 step adds £5,895 gross and £3,556 take-home. After the TPS deduction, taxable pay at U3 is £47,604, still below the £50,270 at which higher-rate tax starts, so the increase is taxed at 20%. National Insurance is charged on the full gross, at 8% up to £50,270 and 2% above it. The step also moves the teacher from the 8.9% to the 9.9% TPS tier, and the higher rate applies to the whole salary, which is why take-home rises by less than the gross.
In Inner London the same point, U3, is £64,684. Taxable pay there is £57,892 after the 10.5% TPS contribution, so part of it is taxed at the higher rate, and take-home is £43,999 a year. On M6 the Inner London take-home is £38,438 against £33,974 in the rest of England. Whether that difference covers the extra cost of living in London depends on the borough, housing and household; we do not have a published measure that answers it.
Leadership pay
Heads, deputy heads and assistant heads are paid on the leadership group pay range. From 1 September 2026 it runs from £53,586 to £148,829 in the Rest of England and from £63,709 to £158,863 in Inner London. It is a span rather than a set of points: the school determines a salary for each leadership post within it (STPCD 2025 paragraph 4). The range is wide because it covers headteachers as well as deputies and assistants.
A headteacher's pay also sits within one of eight headteacher group ranges. The school is assigned to a group by its total unit score, which is calculated from pupil numbers (STPCD 2025 paragraphs 5 and 6). In the Rest of England, Group 1, the smallest schools, runs from £60,619 to £80,652; Group 5 from £81,457 to £110,881; and Group 8, the largest, from £104,059 to £148,829. See the DfE STPCD page for the full tables.
Above £100,000 of adjusted net income the Personal Allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2, which creates a 60% effective marginal rate until it has gone. The TPS contribution is deducted under net pay, so it reduces the income the taper is measured against. A head on £110,881, the top of Group 5, pays 12% (£13,306), leaving taxable pay of £97,575, below the £100,000 taper threshold, so the full Personal Allowance is kept. Our 60% tax trap calculator models this.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Teacher pay in Wales has its own pay and conditions document, set by the Welsh Government on the advice of the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body. The STRB covers England only. See the Welsh Government teachers pay page for the Welsh figures.
Scottish teacher pay is agreed nationally by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, "a tripartite body comprising members from teaching organisations, Local Authorities, and the Scottish Government" (SNCT). From 1 August 2026 a probationer is paid £36,159 and the main grade runs to £54,453 at point 5, with promoted posts such as principal teacher, depute headteacher and headteacher above it (SNCT Handbook Part 2 Appendix 2.1). Scotland does not use England's four pay areas. Teachers in Scotland are in a separate pension scheme administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency.
Northern Ireland sets its own teacher pay. See the Department of Education NI.
Comparison with NHS pay
Against the NHS Agenda for Change 2026/27 scale (NHS Employers): a Rest of England teacher on M1 (£34,069) starts above an NHS Band 5 entry point (£32,073; Band 5 top £39,043). On M6 (£46,940) a teacher is below the top of Band 6 (£48,117). On U3 (£52,835) a teacher sits within Band 7 (£49,387 to £56,515). The two pay years differ: AfC changes each April, teacher pay each September.
London pay is structured differently. The NHS High Cost Area Supplement is paid on top of basic pay: in Inner London it is 20% of basic salary, with a minimum of £5,794 and a maximum of £8,746 in 2026/27. At the top of Band 6 that is £8,746 a year. A teacher's Inner London uplift on M6 is £7,191 (£54,131 less £46,940), which is less than the supplement at the comparable NHS point.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a UK teacher earn in 2026/27?
A teacher on the Rest of England main pay range starts at £34,069 (M1, the statutory minimum) and reaches £46,940 at M6 after five annual steps. The upper pay range runs from £49,134 to £52,835. Inner London pay is higher at every point: M1 is £41,729 and M6 is £54,131. Those are the ranges in force from 1 September 2026, set by the STRB's 36th Report, Appendix F, accepted in full.
Who sets teacher pay in England?
The School Teachers Review Body (STRB) is an independent body that advises on the pay and conditions of school teachers in England. It takes evidence from the Department for Education and consultees including the teaching and leadership unions (NEU, NASUWT, NAHT, ASCL), makes a recommendation, and the government decides whether to accept it. Teacher pay in Wales is set separately. The 2026 award of 3.5% from 1 September 2026 followed the STRB's 36th report, published 1 July 2026 and accepted in full.
What are the four London weighting areas for teachers?
The STPCD defines the areas by borough and district, not by travel zone. Inner London is the City of London and the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster. Outer London is the other 14 London boroughs. The Fringe is all of Surrey plus named districts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and West Sussex (Crawley). Everywhere else is Rest of England.
How much do teachers pay into the Teachers Pension Scheme?
Member contributions are tiered by annual salary rate in six tiers, from 7.4% (up to £36,198.99) to 12% (£104,414.00 and above), for the tiers in force from 1 April 2026. The employer contributes 28.68% of pensionable pay, including a 0.08% administration levy. Member contributions are deducted under a net pay arrangement, giving Income Tax relief at the marginal rate but no National Insurance relief.
How does Net Pay pension treatment work?
Under a net pay arrangement the pension contribution is deducted from gross pay before Income Tax is calculated. A teacher on £52,835 (U3) pays 9.9% (£5,231) into TPS, so Income Tax is charged on £47,604. National Insurance is still charged on the full £52,835, because a net pay arrangement gives no NI relief. This differs from relief at source (used by most personal pensions), where basic-rate relief is added to the pension and higher-rate relief is claimed through Self Assessment.
What is the TLR payment for teachers?
A Teaching and Learning Responsibility payment is paid to a classroom teacher for a significant additional responsibility focused on teaching and learning. From 1 September 2026 TLR1 is £10,531 to £17,819, TLR2 is £3,651 to £8,913, and TLR3 (fixed-term, for time-limited projects) is £727 to £3,600. The school sets the value within the range. A TLR is taxable, NIable and pensionable, so it can move a teacher into a higher TPS contribution tier.
Do Welsh and Scottish teachers earn the same as English teachers?
No. Wales sets teacher pay separately, on the advice of the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body. Scotland's pay is agreed nationally by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), a tripartite body of teaching organisations, local authorities and the Scottish Government. From 1 August 2026 a probationer in Scotland is paid £36,159 and the top of the main grade is £54,453. Northern Ireland also sets its own teacher pay.
Has the 2026/27 teacher pay award been settled?
Yes. The School Teachers' Review Body published its 36th report on 1 July 2026 and the Secretary of State accepted its recommendations in full the same day, giving a 3.5% uplift from 1 September 2026. The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document that restates those figures in statutory form has not been published yet, which is the usual pattern - it appears in the autumn with effect backdated to 1 September, and schools pay the new rates from September regardless. Where publication slips, September arrears are paid in the first available payroll.
What is the leadership pay range?
Heads, deputy heads and assistant heads are paid on the leadership group pay range, which runs from £53,586 to £148,829 in the Rest of England and £63,709 to £158,863 in Inner London from 1 September 2026. It is a span, not a set of points: the school sets a salary for each post within it. Headteacher pay also sits within one of eight headteacher group ranges, and the group is set by the school's unit score, which is based on pupil numbers.
Can teachers do salary sacrifice into a workplace pension?
TPS member contributions are taken under a net pay arrangement, which relieves Income Tax but not National Insurance. The STPCD recognises salary sacrifice for childcare vouchers and cycle schemes, and Teachers Pensions says contributions continue on the full pre-sacrifice salary for those approved schemes. For any other sacrifice arrangement, such as an electric car scheme, contributions and TPS benefits are based on the reduced salary, so the sacrifice also lowers the pension being built.