Teacher Pay Calculator

Teacher pay in England is set by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). From 1 September 2026 the Main Pay Range for classroom teachers outside London runs from £34,069 at M1 to £46,940 at M6, after the 3.5% award the government accepted in July 2026. The intermediate points sit at £36,042 for M2, £38,400 for M3, £40,941 for M4 and £43,529 for M5. Experienced teachers who pass the Threshold move onto the Upper Pay Range, which pays £49,134 at U1, £50,956 at U2 and tops out at £52,835 at U3.

London pay works through separate pay ranges in three zones, Inner London, Outer London and the Fringe, rather than a flat allowance. From September 2026 the Main Pay Range starts at £41,729 in Inner London, £39,196 in Outer London and £35,602 in the Fringe, against £34,069 elsewhere, so the premium is about £7,700, £5,100 and £1,500 at M1 and passes £10,000 in Inner London on the Upper Pay Range. Above the classroom ranges sits the leadership pay range for assistant heads, deputies and headteachers, from £53,586 at L1 to £148,829 at L43, with each headteacher group set by school size, from £60,619 to £80,652 for Group 1 up to £104,059 to £148,829 for Group 8. The 3.5% rise is backdated to 1 September 2026 and goes into the 2026 pay document due in mid-October, with a further 3% already agreed from September 2027. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own pay scales, broadly similar in shape.

This calculator shows your gross salary based on your pay range, spine point and location, then deducts income tax, NI and Teachers' Pension contributions to give monthly and annual take-home pay. The pension contribution is banded rather than flat, running from 7.4% to 12% of pensionable pay depending on which salary band you fall into, so a promotion can push you into a higher contribution tier as well as a higher gross.

The Teachers' Pension Scheme is what makes the package unusual. It is a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme, so your pension is built from average career earnings revalued each year rather than a final salary figure, and it accrues at 1/57 for each year of service. Someone with 35 years of service on average earnings of £50k would build 35/57 of £50,000, which is £30,702 a year, and adding a State Pension of around £12k gives £42,702 of annual retirement income. The employer contributes 28.68% on top of your own banded contribution, worth about 25% of pay in itself, and the benefit is defined and inflation linked for life.

Progression up the scale stopped being automatic after the 2014 reforms. Each year you have to show performance against the teaching standards, though in practice most teachers move one point a year and reach M6 in 6 years. Crossing onto the Upper Pay Range needs a Threshold application demonstrating consistently good practice. Leadership progression from assistant head to deputy to head usually takes 5-10 years. Extra duties such as running a department are paid through a Teaching and Learning Responsibility allowance, worth £3,651 to £17,819 on top of the scale point from September 2026.

On M6 at £46,940 the deductions come to £12,966: income tax of £6,038, NI of £2,750 and a pension contribution at 8.9% of £4,178. That leaves £33,974 a year, or £2,831 a month. A private sector job on the same salary with a 5% pension would net about £35,400, around £1,500 more in cash, but the far larger employer pension contribution behind the teacher's figure is where the value sits. Add 13 weeks of paid holiday, strong job security and typical sick pay of 6 months at full pay followed by 6 months at half pay.

The trade-offs are real rather than imagined. A starting salary of about £34k still lags equivalent graduate roles in business or technology at £35-£40k, and the pension and holidays are the offset. Classroom teaching accounts for 24-25 hours a week, but planning, marking and parent contact push the typical week to 50-60 hours against the 1,265 hours of directed time set out in the STPCD. Workload, not pay, is the reason most often given for leaving, and the average UK teaching career lasts 12-15 years. Independent schools generally pay 10-30% more but offer a workplace defined contribution pension rather than the TPS.