Spine points explained

A spine point, or spinal column point (SCP), is one numbered step on a pay scale, with a fixed annual salary attached to it. Employers build grades from a run of consecutive points, so a job advertised at “SCP 7 to 11” starts at one of those points and moves up one point a year until it reaches the top. On the 2026/27 NJC spine used by councils and most school support staff, those five points run from £27,274 to £29,071.

The NJC spine

The National Joint Council for Local Government Services sets one national pay spine for councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for support staff in many schools. After the 2026/27 award of 3.3 per cent from 1 April 2026, and the deletion of SCP 2, the spine runs from SCP 3 at £25,614 to SCP 43 at £56,293. Hourly rates come from dividing the annual figure by 52.143 weeks and 37 hours, which gives about £13.28 an hour at SCP 3.

The NJC sets only the values of the points. Each council decides how many grades it has, which points go in each grade and which grade each job goes on, usually through a job evaluation scheme. Two councils can therefore pay different salaries for the same job title while using the same spine. Jobs above SCP 43, such as senior managers, are paid on local scales.

How a grade is built

Take a hypothetical council grade made up of SCP 7 to 11:

SCP	Salary from 1 April 2026
7	£27,274
8	£27,709
9	£28,153
10	£28,608
11	£29,071

These values are calculated from the 2025 spine plus 3.3 per cent, rounded to the nearest pound, so check the employer’s own published scale.

A new starter on this grade normally joins at SCP 7, though some councils let managers start you higher for relevant experience under a starting salary policy. After that you move up one point a year, usually on 1 April or on the anniversary of your start date, until you reach SCP 11. At the top there are no more increments, and your pay changes only with the annual pay award or a move to a higher grade.

Increments are normally automatic, but many councils can withhold one during a formal capability or disciplinary process. The council’s pay policy sets the rules.

Pay awards and spine points

An NJC pay award changes the value of each point and leaves your position alone. In 2026/27 every point from SCP 3 to SCP 43 rose by 3.3 per cent, backdated to 1 April 2026. If you were on SCP 9 before and after the award, your SCP number stayed the same and the salary attached to it went up. If an increment falls due on 1 April as well, you get both.

Points are sometimes deleted from the bottom of the spine when the National Living Wage overtakes them, as happened to SCP 2 this year. Anyone on a deleted point moves to the new lowest point.

NHS pay points

Agenda for Change works in a similar way with fewer points. Each band has an entry point, often an intermediate point and a top point. Band 5 in England has three points from 1 April 2026: £32,073, then £34,592 after two years, then £39,043 after two more. Bands 2 and 1 have a single point at £25,272. Progression between points depends on meeting the standards in your appraisal, and our guide to NHS pay progression covers how that works.

NHS adverts rarely mention point numbers. They give the band and the salary range, such as “Band 6, £39,959 to £48,117”.

Teachers and police

Teachers in England are paid on ranges with advisory points. The main pay range has points M1 to M6, from £34,069 to £46,940 outside London from 1 September 2026, and the upper range has U1 to U3. Schools must stay within the statutory minimum and maximum of each range but need not use the advisory points, so academies in particular may have their own steps. The teacher pay scales page sets out every range.

Police constables in England and Wales appointed on or after 1 April 2013 have seven pay points, PP1 at £32,255 to PP7 at £52,015 from 1 September 2026, and move up one point a year.

Reading a point on an advert

When an advert gives SCP numbers, look the points up on the NJC pay spine to see the salary at each step and how long it takes to reach the top. A grade name alone, such as “Grade 5”, is local, so ask for the pay scale or look for the council’s published pay policy. The salary on job adverts guide goes through the rest of the wording.