20th March 2023

Teacher salary in the UK: how does it compares with those abroad? Engage Education |

If you’re considering a career as a teacher in the UK, you will no doubt be curious as to the salary that you could potentially earn. There are several factors that affect the salary of a teacher in the UK. These include:

• Qualification
• Location
• Allowances
  

Teacher salary in the UK: qualifications

As in any other role, a teacher’s salary in the UK is dependent on experience. The standard UK salaries for teaching staff are between:

• Unqualified/trainee teacher: £17,208 – £27,216
• Teacher (average pay range): £23,720 – £35,008
• Teacher (upper pay range): £36,646 – £39,406
• Leading practitioner: £40,162 – £61,005
• Headteacher: £45,213 – £111,007

The teaching position you’re in will also impact the salary:

Newly qualified teacher (NQT) salary

Newly qualified teachers start at the lowest point of pay across England and Wales. This ranges from £28,000 to £34,502, depending on location. The higher end of the pay range is for those living in London. 

Qualified teacher salary

Qualified teachers will be moved into a higher pay range but this still differs depending on location:

• England (excluding London) and Wales – £28,000 to £38,810
• London – £29,344 to £40,083 (fringes), £32,407 to £43,193 (outer), £34,502 to £44,756 (inner)
• Scotland – £33,729 to £42,336
• Northern Ireland – £24,137 to £41,094

Headteacher salary

Headteachers are paid the higher salary of all teachers in the UK. This scale depends on location:

• England (excluding London) and Wales – £50,122 to £123,057
• London – £51,347 to £131,353
• Scotland – £52,350 to £99,609
• Northern Ireland – £47,381 to £117,497

What is the average teacher salary in London? 

School teachers in inner London, can earn substantially more than teachers living elsewhere, with a difference of more than £8,000 per year in some cases.

Teachers from outer London and the London fringe also earn slightly higher wages to compensate for the higher cost of living within London. Teachers who reside elsewhere in the UK receive the standard teacher salary.

The main pay ranges for a teacher in London are between:

• Inner London: £29,664 – £40,372
• Outer London: £27,596 – £38,963
• London fringe: £24,895 – £36,157

What additional payments and benefits do teachers in the UK receive?

As a teacher in the UK you may be entitled to a couple of different types of allowance in addition to your ordinary salary.

If you’re a fully qualified teacher working with pupils with special education needs (SEN) you may be entitled to claim an SEN allowance. This type of allowance can vary from £2,149 to £2,242 per working year.

Should you wish to do so, you may also be eligible for taking on additional responsibilities in return for more money. This is known as a teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payment. There are two main TLR payment ranges. These are:

• Teaching and Learning Responsibility 1: £7,853 – £13,288
• Teaching and Learning Responsibility 2: £2,721 – £6,646

Teacher salary in the UK: how does it compare with those abroad?

According to a study undertaken by Gems Education Solutions, the United Kingdom paid teachers the 13th highest salaries out of the 30 OECD member countries whose data was analysed – an average of £24,000 per year.

Although this is less than the UK average, which is currently £27,000, this is among the highest teacher salaries in Europe and only fractionally lower than teachers in the United States, who get paid an average of $41,000 per year.

However, teachers in the UK also work longer hours than most teachers in Europe, averaging 46 hours per week during term time; this represents an eight-hour increase on the international average which is 38 hours. This is around the same work week as a UK Member of Parliament.

This time is also spent differently in comparison to teachers in other OECD countries. UK teachers spend proportionately less of their working time actually in class and more of it on preparing and gathering resources for lessons. 39 hours of a UK teacher’s working time is spent in school.

To learn what teaching jobs in London and the UK we offer, please contact us today!

Travel Europe. Teach with Engage.

At Engage, we work hard to make sure all our teachers and support staff have a satisfying work/life balance, providing training opportunities, wellbeing support, retail discounts and exclusive travel deals. Our teachers from Australia have the ability to satisfy their travel bug and explore the UK and Europe in the school holidays, knowing that they’re getting the support of Engage when they return to work next term.

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Speak to Education Support

If you find you’re struggling during the holidays, our partners at the Education Support Partnership are on hand throughout the holidays to assist. From short-term financial aid to counselling, advice, or just a friendly chat, the Education Support Partnership was created to help teachers when they need it. (Just call them at 08000 562 561.)

If you’re a teacher with Engage, you can benefit from the full Employee Assistance Programme, which includes up to six sessions of face-to-face telephone counselling, access to online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), financial and legal information, and more.

You can find out more on the Education Support Partnership’s website. If you’d like more information on how we support our teachers throughout their career, check out the Employee Assistance Programme and all our other benefits.