Average salary for UK teachers: a guide to education earnings

Interested in working in education? Wondering how much teachers make in the UK? While salary isn’t the only factor to consider when choosing a career, it’s something to keep in mind.

We’ll run through the average wage for the following teaching roles:

• Maintained school teachers
• Non-maintained school teachers
• Headteachers
• Further education teachers
• University lecturers
• Professional trainers

Teachers who work in maintained schools (ie. schools funded by local authorities) are paid according to a national pay scale which varies by location. If you have qualified teacher status (QTS) and work in a maintained school in England, you’ll earn between £31,650 and £49,084 (or more in London) as of September 2024.

Generally, you start your teaching career at the bottom of the pay scale and inch your way up a step every year. If you perform particularly well, you’ll take two steps at a time, so excellent teachers will rocket up through the salary levels. More years on the job and smashing your annual reviews = higher wages.

Teacher earnings doesn’t stop there though. There’s a higher pay scale for those who qualify as Leading Practitioners. Their job is to pass on their expertise as well as teach in classrooms. On top of that, you’ll earn more for any Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLR) you take on (eg. curriculum planning), and for working with children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). There’s a scale for these extra payments too, though it’s more flexible.

Want to dive further into the figures? You can read up on the current teacher pay scales on the Get Into Teaching website. For more information on the salary ranges (including for teachers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), visit the GOV.UK guidance for teachers’ pay scales.

Unlike maintained schools, non-maintained schools (ie. academies, independent schools and private schools) choose their own pay scales. However, lots pay within a similar range to maintained schools.

There’s a preconception that teachers in non-maintained schools earn more but the difference is usually minimal.

Again, headteachers at maintained schools are paid on a set scale. Non-maintained school heads generally earn more, but rarely by a significant amount.

The average headteacher salary goes from £56,000 (as a starter salary) to £138,000. Again, those in London will earn more than those who live elsewhere.

Further education (FE) teachers are paid on a different scale. Colleges also negotiate their salaries with a teachers’ union.

The 2023 England pay scale saw unqualified lecturers earn from £22,387. The average salary range for a FE teacher in the UK is higher, with most earning between £26,000 and £45,000.

While there’s also a pay scale for higher education (HE) lecturers, it isn’t a useful measure for understanding how much you’ll earn because the range is so wide. The 2022-2023 band ran from £18,898 to £65,578, so there’s a big disparity in salary potential.

It’s more useful to look at what most HE lecturers earn. The average salary for a university lecturer is £37,000 to £56,000 – still a big range, but more helpful.

Want to teach professional skills? The pay of a trainer is variable. The average salary of a training officer goes from £22,500 to £40,000. In most cases, you’ll work for a company as a learning and development officer or a skills trainer. You’ll usually teach using somebody else’s learning materials.

However, an experienced businessperson who shifts to become a freelance trainer and delivers bespoke courses will likely earn much more. Experts charge thousands of pounds for delivering a one-day course in a corporate environment.

While it’s good to know how much a teacher gets paid in the UK, you’ve got to think about more than the money.

To be a good teacher, you need to love helping people learn. If that’s you, great! If your main motivation is climbing the pay scale, consider other sectors. For most teaching roles, you’ll have to invest time and energy into getting fully qualified. It’ll be easier to commit – and thrive – if you’re passionate about education.

This article was updated in December 2024. Salary estimates are subject to change.