You may be surprised by how rewarding a teaching career can be. With starting salaries matching what you'd receive in many other professions, your experience and performance can see you achieve rapid progression, and enjoy the financial rewards to match.
All qualified teachers are paid according to pay scales, updated each September by the Government. You will start on the 'main' pay scale and each year, subject to performance, you will move up a step until you reach the maximum level or move on to a scale associated with a different position or level of experience.
Once you have completed your initial teacher training (ITT) and achieved qualified teacher status (QTS), you can expect to start as a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in England and Wales on £21,588 a year (or £27,000 if you work in inner London).
Main pay scale including NQTs:
- London fringe: £22,626 to £32,588
- Outer London: £25,117 to £35,116
- Inner London: £27,000 to £36,387
- Rest of England and Wales: £21,588 to £31,552
View definitions of the London fringe, outer London, and inner London
The government recently announced its response to proposed future changes to teachers’ pay arrangements. Find out more
Leadership and headship pay scales
For the first few years of your career, you might find yourself progressing to a leadership pay scale, or even a headship pay scale. These pay scales include:
- advanced skills teacher pay scale
- excellent teacher pay scheme
- leadership group pay scale, and
- head teacher pay scale
Where you fit into these scales will depend on your position, experience and location, as well as on your individual school. Compare pay scales
Teaching benefits
In addition to your basic salary, you will also receive a range of benefits, including:
- teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments – additional money if you take on additional responsibilities
- teachers' pension – the second largest public sector pension scheme in the country
- holidays – more days than many people in other professions, though teachers work for 195 days per year in school, and do some work during their holidays
Housing and home ownership
As key workers, teachers may be eligible to join home ownership schemes for help buying a home. Find out more on Directgov
