Biggest sustained pay increase for teachers for 15 years

Teachers in England are set for the biggest sustained uplift to their pay ranges since 2005, following proposals for teacher starting salaries to rise to £26,000 this September.

The proposals, submitted to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), cover plans to increase starting salaries to at least £26,000 in September 2020, with those in outer and inner London to rise to £30,000 and £32,000 respectively. This marks the next step towards meeting the government’s commitment to increase teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000 by September 2022.

There will be an above inflation pay increase of 2.5 per cent to their pay ranges for experienced teachers, heads and school leaders, with the Department for Education announcing that early career teachers’ salaries will increase by up to 6.7 per cent, supporting an attractive career path for the whole profession.

It is believed that the proposed changes to the pay system could see over 1,000 extra teachers retained per year by 2022/23.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “We want to make teaching attractive to the most talented graduates by recognising the prestige that we as a society place on the profession. We have set out proposals to significantly raise starting salaries for new teachers to £26,000 next year, rising to £30,000 by September 2022, alongside above-inflation pay increases for senior teachers and school leaders. These mark the biggest reform to teacher pay in a generation.”