Teacher Salary UK 2024: Pay Scales, Progression, and How Teaching Compares

Newly qualified teachers in England start at £31,650. Full teacher pay scales, regional London zones, leadership pay, and ASHE 2024 benchmarks.

12 August 20265 min readSalaryScout Editorial

Teaching is one of the UK's most common graduate professions — and one of the most closely scrutinised for pay. If you are considering entering the profession, already teaching, or comparing public sector salary scales, here is a full breakdown of what teachers earn in 2024.

Teacher Pay in England: The National Pay Scales

Teacher pay in England is set by the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) and updated annually. For 2024–25, the government accepted the STRB recommendation in full — a 5.5% increase across all pay ranges.

Main Pay Range (MPR): Qualified Teachers

Point	Annual salary (England, outside London)
M1 (NQT / ECT Year 1)	£31,650
M2	£33,483
M3	£35,384
M4	£37,261
M5	£39,199
M6	£41,333

Progression through M1 to M6 takes a minimum of six years with satisfactory performance. Most classroom teachers reach the top of the main pay range within 5–8 years.

Upper Pay Range (UPR): Experienced Teachers

Point	Annual salary
U1	£43,685
U2	£45,141
U3	£46,525

To access the UPR, teachers must apply and demonstrate sustained high performance. This requires a formal application process — it is not automatic.

London Pay Zones

All London teachers receive a zone supplement on top of the national scales:

Zone	M1	M6	U3
Inner London	£38,766	£50,471	£55,390
Outer London	£34,514	£45,646	£50,459
London Fringe	£32,407	£42,285	£47,680

An inner London newly qualified teacher starts at £38,766 — about £7,000 more than the national M1 rate.

Leadership Pay

School leaders are paid on the Leadership Pay Range (LPR), which is a continuous spine rather than discrete points:

Role	Typical annual salary
Assistant head / deputy head	£50,471–£70,293
Head teacher (small primary)	£52,761–£79,475
Head teacher (large secondary)	£65,000–£95,000+
Executive head (multi-academy trust)	£80,000–£130,000+

Head teacher pay is set by the governing body within national guidelines, scaled by school group size. Very large secondary schools and multi-academy trusts at the upper end approach six-figure salaries.

What ONS Data Shows

ONS ASHE 2024 covers teachers working across state and independent schools, full-time and part-time:

Metric	Secondary school teachers	Primary school teachers
Median full-time pay	£43,900	£40,200
Top 25%	£53,100	£48,600
Top 10%	£65,800	£58,200
Bottom 25%	£33,700	£32,100

The ASHE median for secondary school teachers (£43,900) sits in the mid-M5 to M6 range on the national pay scale, reflecting that the sample captures a mix of early-career and experienced teachers. The primary school teacher median is lower, but the gap narrows once leadership pay is included.

How Teaching Pay Compares to the UK Median

Benchmark	Annual pay
Newly qualified teacher (M1, England)	£31,650
UK median (all workers, ASHE 2024)	£37,430
Experienced teacher (M6)	£41,333
Upper pay range maximum (U3)	£46,525
ASHE median, secondary school teachers	£43,900

A newly qualified teacher earns 15% below the national median. By M6 (typically 5–8 years in), a teacher sits just above the national median. Reaching the upper pay range (U3) puts a teacher in approximately the top 30% of all UK earners.

Total Compensation: The Full Picture

Base salary understates the value of teaching employment. Key non-cash elements:

Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS): a defined-benefit scheme with a career average structure. The employer contributes 23.68% of salary — equivalent to over £7,400/year at M1 level. This is among the most valuable workplace pensions in the UK.
13 weeks of holiday: substantially more than standard professional employment (typical 5–6 weeks).
Statutory sick pay protections: full pay for the first six months of illness (better than most private sector).

Including TPS and additional holiday, total compensation for a teacher on M4 (£37,261) is estimated at £52,000–£55,000 equivalent, bringing teaching closer to technical and professional sector peers than base salary comparisons suggest.

Subject-Specific Recruitment Incentives

To address shortages in high-priority subjects, the UK government offers bursaries and scholarships to trainee teachers in shortage subjects (2024 entry):

Subject	Bursary / scholarship
Physics	£29,000
Chemistry	£27,000
Computing	£27,000
Maths	£28,000
Languages (French, German, Spanish)	£25,000
Biology	£10,000

These are one-off payments during teacher training — they do not affect subsequent salary levels.

Teaching vs Other Graduate Careers: A Comparison

Career	Graduate starting salary	5-year typical salary
Teaching (England, M1–M4)	£31,650	£37,261–£39,199
Nursing (NHS Band 5)	£29,970	£35,000–£37,000
Graduate engineer	£28,000–£35,000	£40,000–£55,000
Software developer	£30,000–£40,000	£50,000–£65,000
Accountancy (ACA trainee)	£27,000–£32,000	£50,000+ (post-qualification)

Teaching offers a competitive starting salary relative to most non-technical graduate routes, particularly when pension and holiday value are included. The ceiling is lower than commercial careers in tech, finance, or professional services, but the floor and security are higher than many.