Teacher pay scales, England
Teacher pay in England is set by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), with separate scales for inner London, outer London, the fringe and everywhere else. A 3.5% rise applies from 1 September 2026, the first year of a two-year award, but the final per-point document arrives in mid-October. Both years are below, clearly labelled.
Main pay range from September 2026 (indicative)
The 3.5% award is confirmed; the exact points are published in the STPCD 2026 in mid-October and backdated to 1 September. These figures are the verified 2025/26 point plus 3.5%, rounded up to the nearest pound. We will replace them with the published table the day it appears.
Indicative · final figures pending · DfE Education Hub, 1 July 2026 award announcement
| Point | England | Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £34,069 | £35,602 | £39,196 | £41,729 |
| M2 | £36,042 | £37,647 | £41,246 | £43,713 |
| M3 | £38,400 | £39,979 | £43,403 | £45,787 |
| M4 | £40,941 | £42,513 | £45,673 | £47,961 |
| M5 | £43,529 | £45,070 | £48,438 | £50,666 |
| M6 | £46,940 | £48,479 | £52,241 | £54,131 |
| Point | England | Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | £49,134 | £50,625 | £54,047 | £59,650 |
| U2 | £50,956 | £52,442 | £56,047 | £62,581 |
| U3 | £52,835 | £54,328 | £58,120 | £64,684 |
The scales these replace: 2025/26
These were the rates in force from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, after the 4% award, and they remain what teachers are actually paid until the backdated 2026 rise lands in payslips.
Checked 7 September 2026 · NASUWT published scales (STPCD 2025)
| Point | England | Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £32,916 | £34,398 | £37,870 | £40,317 |
| M2 | £34,823 | £36,373 | £39,851 | £42,234 |
| M3 | £37,101 | £38,627 | £41,935 | £44,238 |
| M4 | £39,556 | £41,075 | £44,128 | £46,339 |
| M5 | £42,057 | £43,545 | £46,800 | £48,952 |
| M6 | £45,352 | £46,839 | £50,474 | £52,300 |
| Point | England | Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | £47,472 | £48,913 | £52,219 | £57,632 |
| U2 | £49,232 | £50,668 | £54,151 | £60,464 |
| U3 | £51,048 | £52,490 | £56,154 | £62,496 |
| Point | England | Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UQ1 | £22,601 | £24,066 | £26,789 | £28,343 |
| UQ2 | £25,193 | £26,656 | £29,383 | £30,935 |
| UQ3 | £27,785 | £29,248 | £31,974 | £33,528 |
| UQ4 | £30,071 | £31,532 | £34,265 | £35,814 |
| UQ5 | £32,667 | £34,126 | £36,856 | £38,402 |
| UQ6 | £35,259 | £36,718 | £39,450 | £40,994 |
Leadership group pay (heads, deputies, assistant heads) runs on a 43-point spine from £51,773 (L1) to £143,796 (L43) in 2025/26, with each school setting a range within it by group size.
How the scale works
New teachers start on M1 (or higher at the school's discretion) and normally move up one point a year, subject to appraisal. M2 to M5 are advisory points: maintained schools almost all use them, academies can set their own. After M6, teachers apply to cross to the upper pay range, which is for sustained contribution rather than automatic progression.
The four geographic scales are fixed by school location, not where you live. Inner London M1 at £41,729 (indicative 2026/27) is worth £7,660 more than the same job outside the capital.
Common questions
What is the teacher pay scale for 2026/27?
Teachers in England received a confirmed 3.5% rise from 1 September 2026. On the indicative uplifted scale, M1 starts at £34,069 outside London and M6 reaches £46,940, with U3 on the upper pay range at £52,835. Final per-point figures are published in the STPCD 2026 in mid-October and backdated to 1 September.
Are the 2026/27 figures final?
The 3.5% award is confirmed government policy, but the STPCD 2026 with the exact per-point tables is published mid-October 2026 after consultation, backdated to 1 September. Until then the 2026/27 columns here are the verified 2025/26 point plus 3.5%, rounded up to the nearest pound, and are labelled indicative.
How much do NEU pay scales differ from these?
They don't. The NEU, NASUWT and other unions publish the same STPCD scales; 'NEU pay scale' is just the union's republication of the national advisory points. The figures on this page are cross-checked against NASUWT's published tables.
Do academies have to follow these scales?
No. Academies set their own pay policies and are not bound by the STPCD, though most shadow it closely because they recruit from the same pool as maintained schools.
What happens after 2026/27?
The award was announced as a multi-year deal: 3.5% from September 2026, then a further 3% from September 2027.