School Leadership Pay 2026/27: Head, Deputy and Assistant Head
The statutory leadership pay range for England in 2026/27, the headteacher group ranges, where deputy and assistant head posts sit inside them, and take-home after tax, NI and the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
The leadership range
School leadership pay in England is not a scale with points on it. The pay document sets one statutory span, the leadership pay range, and every leadership post in a maintained school sits somewhere inside it: headteachers, deputy heads and assistant heads together. The figures below are the ranges in force from 1 September 2026.
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Rest of England | £53,586 | £148,829 |
| Inner London | £63,709 | £158,863 |
The bottom of the range sits just above the top of the classroom upper pay range, currently £52,835 at U3, which is the step a teacher takes on moving into leadership.
Headteacher group ranges
Headteacher pay is bounded a second time, by the school's group. Every school is placed in one of eight groups on the total unit score of its pupils, and each group has its own range inside the leadership span. This site holds four of the eight: groups 1 and 2 at the small end, group 5, and group 8 at the top. The other four sit between them.
| Group | Minimum | Maximum | Take-home at the minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | £60,619 | £80,652 | £41,897 |
| Group 2 | £63,688 | £86,796 | £43,484 |
| Group 5 | £81,457 | £110,881 | £52,133 |
| Group 8 | £104,059 | £148,829 | £63,669 |
The top of group 8 and the top of the leadership range are the same figure, £148,829. That is not a coincidence in the source either: the largest headteacher group reaches the ceiling of the span.
Deputy and assistant heads
This is the part most sources get wrong, usually by quoting a single figure. There is no published pay point for a deputy headteacher or an assistant headteacher. The pay document sets the leadership span and the headteacher group ranges, and then leaves the relevant body to set an individual pay range for each other leadership post. Paragraph 9.4 sets the limit: the maximum of a deputy or assistant headteacher's range must not exceed the maximum of the headteacher group for that school, and the range should only overlap the headteacher's own range in exceptional circumstances. Nothing requires a deputy to be paid above an assistant head; that ordering is convention rather than rule.
In practice that makes school size the dominant variable. A deputy head in a large secondary can be paid more than a headteacher of a small primary, because the two posts are anchored to different group ranges rather than to each other. Anyone comparing offers should be comparing the individual range in the advert, not a national average, and should ask which points of the range are attached to which responsibilities.
Where you see a single "average deputy head salary" quoted, it is a survey or an estimate rather than a statutory figure. This page does not print one, because none is published.
Take-home across the range
Points on the statutory span, netted through Income Tax, National Insurance and the Teachers' Pension Scheme contribution due at that salary. TPS is a net pay arrangement: the contribution reduces taxable pay, so it gets full relief at the marginal rate, but National Insurance is charged on the whole gross.
| Point | Gross | TPS | Income Tax | NI | Take-home | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom of the leadership range | £53,586 | £5,305 (9.9%) | £7,142 | £3,082 | £38,056 | £3,171 |
| Group 2 headteacher minimum | £63,688 | £6,687 (10.5%) | £10,232 | £3,284 | £43,484 | £3,624 |
| Group 5 headteacher minimum | £81,457 | £9,449 (11.6%) | £16,235 | £3,640 | £52,133 | £4,344 |
| Group 8 headteacher minimum | £104,059 | £12,071 (11.6%) | £24,227 | £4,092 | £63,669 | £5,306 |
| Top of the leadership range | £148,829 | £17,859 (12%) | £45,139 | £4,987 | £80,843 | £6,737 |
Across the whole span, gross rises by £95,243 and take-home by £42,787. The difference is the higher-rate band, the additional-rate band at the top, and a TPS contribution rate that steps up with salary.
How a leadership salary is actually set
Four things decide where a leadership post lands, in roughly this order. The school's group, which is fixed by pupil numbers and weighting rather than by negotiation. The post itself, since a headteacher, a deputy and an assistant head are anchored differently inside the span. The individual range the governing body sets, normally several points wide, which determines the ceiling for that post before any promotion. And progression within that range, which depends on performance rather than on time served.
Academies are not bound by the pay document at all, though many mirror it. An academy trust can set its own leadership pay entirely, which is where the outlying headteacher salaries reported in the press come from.
Related
- Teacher pay scales 2026/27: the main and upper ranges, and the 3.5% award
- TLR payments, the responsibility allowances for classroom teachers
- Deputy headteacher pay and take-home and teacher pay
- Teacher take-home calculator
Frequently asked questions
What is the leadership pay range?
A single statutory span covering every leadership post in a maintained school in England: £53,586 to £148,829 outside London, £63,709 to £158,863 in inner London. Headteachers, deputies and assistant heads are all inside it, which is why it is so wide and why neither end describes any particular job.
How much does a deputy headteacher earn?
There is no published deputy headteacher pay point, and any site quoting one has estimated it. What is published is the statutory leadership range and the headteacher group ranges. A deputy head sits on an individual range set by the relevant body, and the pay document sets one hard limit on it: the maximum must not exceed the maximum of the headteacher group for that school. It also says the range should only overlap the headteacher’s own range in exceptional circumstances. School size drives the outcome more than anything else, because it fixes which group the school is in.
What are headteacher groups?
Every school is placed in one of eight groups by the total unit score of its pupils, and each group has its own pay range. Group 1 is the smallest schools and group 8 the largest. The relevant body then sets an individual range inside the group range for its own headteacher. This page shows groups 1, 2, 5 and 8; the pay document publishes all eight.
Do school leaders get TLR payments?
No. Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments belong to classroom teachers on the main and upper pay ranges. Leadership posts are paid on the leadership range instead, which already reflects the responsibility.
When does the new pay year start?
Teacher pay years run from 1 September, not from the April tax year. The 3.5% award applies from 1 September 2026, so a leadership salary changes mid tax year and a payslip in August and one in September are on different scales.
What does a headteacher take home?
At the bottom of the group 5 range, £81,457, take-home is about £52,133 a year after Income Tax, National Insurance and a 11.6% Teachers' Pension contribution. The pension is a net pay arrangement, so it reduces taxable pay but not the pay National Insurance is charged on.