Teacher pay award 2026/27

Teachers in England have been awarded 3.5% from 1 September 2026, with 5% on the minimum of the unqualified range outside London. The government accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendation in full on 1 July 2026, and also accepted a further 3% from 1 September 2027. The award is agreed but not yet law. The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2026 that puts it into effect was still a draft in mid-October 2026.

Status across the UK

Each nation sets teachers’ pay separately, and they are at different stages.

Nation	2026/27 award	Status in mid-October 2026
England	3.5% from 1 September 2026 (5% on the unqualified minimum); 3% from 1 September 2027	Accepted; legal document due around early November
Wales	Review body recommended 4.25%; government consulting on 3.5% (5% unqualified)	Not confirmed
Scotland	3.25% from 1 August 2026 (year two of a two-year deal)	Confirmed and in payment
Northern Ireland	No offer made	Not confirmed; latest award is 2025/26

England: why your payslip may not show it yet

Consultation on the draft STPCD 2026 closed on 23 September 2026. The Local Government Association expects the final document around early November 2026, backdated to 1 September 2026. Maintained schools cannot legally apply new pay rates until the document is in force, so most will pay the 2025/26 rates until then and settle arrears once it is published. The arrears go through the first payroll run your employer can process after publication, so the month depends on its payroll cut-off.

Academies are not bound by the STPCD in the same way. Their contracts often refer to it, but some trusts apply the new rates earlier and a few set their own figures. An academy’s pay policy or HR team will say when the rise lands.

What the award does to the England scales

The 3.5% applies to all pay and allowance ranges. Outside London, from 1 September 2026:

• M1 becomes £34,069 and M6 £46,940
• the upper pay range runs from £49,134 (U1) to £52,835 (U3)
• the leading practitioner range is £53,847 to £81,861
• the leadership group range is £53,586 to £148,829
• the unqualified range is £23,732 to £36,494, with the 5% rise at the minimum

Allowances rise by the same 3.5%: TLR1 £10,531 to £17,819, TLR2 £3,651 to £8,913, TLR3 £727 to £3,600, and the SEN allowance £2,885 to £5,690. The main pay points M1 to M6 remain advisory, while the minimum and maximum of each range are statutory.

The teacher pay scales in England guide has the full table, and teacher pay in London and the fringe has the three London areas.

The 2027 rise

Pay awards normally come one year at a time, so the government’s acceptance of a further 3% from 1 September 2027 is unusual. The 2027 figures will be set out in a later pay document, which means the cash values for September 2027 are not published yet. Rozile will not estimate them until they are.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in detail

In Wales, the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body recommended 4.25%. On 13 July 2026 the minister said the government would consult on 3.5%, and 5% for unqualified teachers, with the consultation running from September. Wales has its own pay document, so the final figure will come in a revised Welsh document. See teacher pay in Wales.

Scotland’s teachers are in the second year of a deal agreed through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. It gave 4% from 1 August 2025, rising to 4.25% from 1 April 2026, and then 3.25% from 1 August 2026. From that date a probationer earns £36,159 and the main grade runs from £43,383 to £54,453. Rozile has not checked the deal’s year-two reopener clause.

Northern Ireland’s latest confirmed award is 4% from 1 September 2025, accepted on 13 January 2026. No 2026/27 offer had been made by mid-October 2026. See teacher pay in Northern Ireland for the current scale.

What changes for your deductions

A 3.5% rise can push you across a threshold. In the Teachers’ Pension Scheme the member rate is set on your actual salary rate, with tiers changing at £36,199 (7.4% to 8.9%), £48,728 (8.9% to 9.9%) and £57,777 (9.9% to 10.5%). Outside London, M3 at £38,400 is in the 8.9% tier, and U1 at £49,134 is now in the 9.9% tier.

U3 outside London (£52,835) is above £50,270, where 40% income tax starts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish taxpayers have different bands, with 42% starting above £43,662. The how much of a pay rise do you actually keep guide works through the effect, and the take-home pay calculator gives monthly figures at the new rates.