Teaching Assistant Salary 2026/27: What You Take Home
Full-time teaching assistants (SOC 2020 6112) were paid a median of £21,239 in ONS ASHE 2025, with the middle half between £18,789 and £24,152. That is actual pay over the year, so term-time-only contracts are already reflected in it. Across all TAs, part-time included, the median was £18,024. The role sits entirely inside the 20% basic-rate tax band.
Typical pay & take-home
- Median gross
- £21,239
- ASHE 2025, 25th to 75th percentile
- £18,789–£24,152
- Take-home at median
- £17,826 England, after the 5.8% LGPS pension contribution, Income Tax and NI.
At the median for this profession, you earn 46% below the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you below the 10th percentile (£23,990) of UK full-time earnings, the lowest point ONS publishes.
See exact take-home for £21,239 →
Council posts are graded on the national pay spine: NJC pay scales 2026/27 →
What influences teaching assistant (ta) pay
Teaching assistants had an ONS ASHE 2025 full-time median of £21,239 (provisional, Table 14.7a annual gross pay, SOC 2020 code 6112), with the 10th percentile at £17,070, the middle half between £18,789 and £24,152 and the 90th percentile at £27,203. ASHE's annual figure is what employees in the same job for the whole year were actually paid, and "full-time" means more than 30 paid hours a week, so it is not a 52-week equivalent: a term-time contract's pro-rated salary is inside it. The all-employee median, which adds part-time TAs, was £18,024.
Hours and weeks decide actual pay. Council and maintained-school support staff are usually paid a spine point pro-rated for the hours and weeks in the contract, which is why two TAs on the same grade can earn very different annual amounts. From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. Higher level teaching assistants and SEN or educational support assistants are separate ONS unit groups, so they are not in the figures above.
A TA on the median is well inside the 20% basic-rate band: after the £12,570 personal allowance, pay is taxed at 20% Income Tax plus 8% Class 1 NI up to £50,270. Most school support staff are enrolled in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) - a Career Average (CARE) defined-benefit scheme with employee contributions banded from 5.5% at the lowest pay tier, not the Teachers Pension Scheme (which covers qualified teachers).
Career progression
- ASHE does not publish TA pay by grade. These are points in the April 2025 full-time pay distribution for SOC 2020 6112, actual pay over the year.
- Lower quartile: £18,789.
- Median: £21,239.
- Upper quartile: £24,152.
- Apprentice TAs may be paid the apprentice rate of the National Minimum Wage in their first year or while under 19.
- Progression to higher level teaching assistant, or into training as a qualified teacher (see Graduate Teacher).
Frequently asked questions
- What is take-home for a full-time teaching assistant?
- On the £21,239 full-time median the Local Government Pension Scheme contribution is 5.8%, the band that applies at that salary, and take-home is about £17,826 a year, or £1,486 a month, after £1,232 of pension, £1,487 of Income Tax and £694 of National Insurance. The median is actual pay over the year, so a term-time contract is already reflected in it.
- Why is my teaching assistant pay lower than the £21,239 figure?
- Usually because of hours. The £21,239 is the median actually paid to TAs working more than 30 hours a week, term-time contracts included - it is not a 52-week full-time equivalent. A TA on fewer hours is counted as part-time, and across all TAs, part-time included, the ONS median was £18,024. Your own annual pay is your hourly rate times the hours and weeks in your contract, plus pro-rated holiday pay.
- Do teaching assistants get the Teachers Pension Scheme?
- No - the Teachers Pension Scheme is for qualified teachers. School support staff, including TAs, are normally members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), a defined-benefit CARE scheme with tiered employee contributions starting at 5.5% of pensionable pay for the lowest earnings band.