What the 2026/27 award actually is
The School Teachers' Review Body recommended a 3.5% pay award for England's teachers in 2026/27, and the government accepted it in full. Because the award is percentage-based rather than a flat cash sum, its value scales with where you sit on the teacher pay scale: an inner London U3 gains far more pounds than an unqualified teacher at the bottom of the range.
The uplift applies to statutory pay points, leadership spines, lead practitioner ranges and allowances alike — TLR minimums and maximums were uprated on the same basis.
Every confirmed main pay range point for 2026/27
| Point | Rest of England | London Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £34,068 | £35,602 | £39,195 | £41,728 |
| M2 | £36,042 | £37,646 | £41,246 | £43,712 |
| M3 | £38,400 | £39,979 | £43,403 | £45,786 |
| M4 | £40,940 | £42,513 | £45,672 | £47,961 |
| M5 | £43,529 | £45,069 | £48,438 | £50,665 |
| M6 | £46,939 | £48,478 | £52,241 | £54,131 |
These are the figures most searches for the "new teacher pay scale" are really asking about. A full-time newly qualified teacher in Birmingham or Manchester starts at £34,068; the same role in Hackney starts at £41,728.
How much each point moved: 2025/26 versus 2026/27
Dividing any current point by 1.035 recovers the previous year's figure (derived, not officially republished). The table shows what the 3.5% means in real cash for key points:
| Point | 2026/27 | 2025/26 (derived) | Annual gain | Monthly gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UQ1 | £23,731 | ≈£22,928 | ≈£803 | ≈£67 |
| M1 | £34,068 | ≈£32,916 | ≈£1,152 | ≈£96 |
| M4 | £40,940 | ≈£39,556 | ≈£1,384 | ≈£115 |
| M6 | £46,939 | ≈£45,352 | ≈£1,587 | ≈£132 |
| U3 | £52,835 | ≈£51,048 | ≈£1,787 | ≈£149 |
The pattern repeats in every region: the higher your point, the larger the absolute gain. That is deliberate — percentage awards preserve relativities between regions and ranges.
Upper pay range and allowances in 2026/27
| Point | Rest of England | London Fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | £49,134 | £50,625 | £54,047 | £59,649 |
| U2 | £50,955 | £52,441 | £56,046 | £62,580 |
| U3 | £52,835 | £54,327 | £58,119 | £64,683 |
Allowances rose on the same basis. TLR 1 payments now span £10,530 to £17,819, TLR 2 spans £3,650 to £8,912, and SEN allowances run £2,885 to £5,689. If you hold a fixed TLR amount written into your contract, check whether your school applied the percentage to your actual payment or merely updated the permitted range.
When does the 2026/27 pay rise hit your payslip?
- 1 September 2026 — the legal effective date for maintained schools.
- September or October payslip — most local authority payroll cycles apply the new rates immediately; some lag one month and backdate automatically.
- Backdating — if implementation slips, you are owed the difference from September; it does not disappear.
- Part-time staff — the uplift applies to the scale point first, then your FTE fraction; the percentage gain is identical.
Scotland, Wales and NI: different settlements
- Wales negotiates through the IWPRB but currently mirrors the STPCD figures, so the tables above apply.
- Scotland runs the SNCT negotiating machinery with its own spine: the main scale runs £34,539 to £48,516, with Chartered Teacher at £52,539.
- Northern Ireland remains lowest: £32,188 at the bottom of the main range rising to £44,342 at the top, with an upper range of £46,589 to £50,085.
Because the devolved settlements are negotiated separately, the 3.5% headline is not guaranteed to match outside England and Wales. We keep dedicated pages for Scotland and Northern Ireland so you can track each settlement separately.
Common mistakes with the 26/27 figures
- Using 25/26 blog posts — dozens of ranking pages still show last year's numbers. Anything quoting an M1 start below £34,000 is out of date.
- Assuming the award applies pro-rata across the year mid-term — it applies to annual rate from 1 September, not blended.
- Confusing the pay award with progression — moving from M3 to M4 adds roughly £2,540 in the rest of England, far more than the 3.5% award itself. See our pay rise guide for the combined effect.
- Forgetting the pension effect — higher pensionable pay buys more CARE pension every year the higher rate applies.
Regional winners and losers of the percentage award
A flat percentage treats every region proportionally, so cash gains rank exactly as salaries do. Dividing current points by 1.035 shows the derived prior-year figures and therefore the gain:
| Region | 2026/27 M1 | Gain |
|---|---|---|
| Inner London | £41,728 | ≈£1,411 |
| Outer London | £39,195 | ≈£1,325 |
| London Fringe | £35,602 | ≈£1,204 |
| Rest of England & Wales | £34,068 | ≈£1,152 |
| Scotland | £34,539 | separate settlement |
| N. Ireland | £32,188 | separate settlement |
What the award does to your pension and protections
Three quiet knock-on effects follow any scale uplift. First, pension accrual: each year builds 1/57th of pensionable pay, so a higher base buys permanently more CARE pension — worth checking against your next benefit statement. Second, occupational protections such as maternity and sick pay calculations reference recent salary, lifting those entitlements automatically. Third, overtime-style payments and cover paid at pro-rata scale rates rise with the same stroke. None of these require action from you, but all are worth verifying on your first post-September payslip. Our take-home pay guide covers the tax side of the uplift, and the pay rise calculator models combined award-plus-progression years.
Reading your first 26/27 payslip properly
The September payslip carries more information than the headline rise. Work through it in order: confirm basic salary matches your scale point plus band; check any TLR was uplifted proportionally rather than left at its old cash value; verify pensionable pay moved with everything else; and confirm NI and tax codes look unchanged unless something else changed too. Teachers who audit once a year catch almost every payroll error that would otherwise persist silently. If you work part time, multiply the confirmed point by your FTE fraction before comparing with previous months — percentage checks beat absolute ones whenever hours vary.
Frequently asked questions
What is the teacher pay scale for 26/27?
The 2026/27 STPCD main pay range runs from £34,068 (M1) to £46,939 (M6) in the rest of England, with inner London at £41,728 to £54,131. The upper range runs £49,134 to £52,835 outside London. Every point reflects a 3.5% uplift effective 1 September 2026.
How much is the teacher pay rise for 2026?
The award is 3.5%. In cash that is roughly £1,152 a year at M1, £1,587 at M6 and £1,787 at U3 in the rest of England, with proportionally larger gains in London. Previous-year comparisons shown alongside are derived by dividing by 1.035.
When will the 2026/27 teacher pay rise be paid?
It takes effect on 1 September 2026. Most teachers see it in their September or October payslip depending on the payroll cycle. Any delay must be backdated to September — the entitlement does not lapse.
Does the 3.5% award apply to Wales?
Yes in practice: the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body's current recommendation mirrors the STPCD figures exactly, so Welsh teachers are on identical points. Scotland and Northern Ireland negotiate separate settlements and their scales differ.
Do leadership pay ranges rise with the 2026/27 award?
Yes. The whole leadership group spine — L1 to L43 — was uprated 3.5%, so the England spine now runs from £53,585 to £148,829, with higher endpoints in each London band. Lead practitioner ranges rose on the same basis.
Is the new teacher pay scale the same in academies?
Not necessarily. Academies set their own pay policies, so the STPCD is a reference point rather than an obligation. Most trusts continue to track the statutory points, but your contract and trust policy govern what you are actually paid.
How much does an NQT or new teacher earn in 2026/27?
A full-time newly qualified teacher on M1 earns £34,068 in the rest of England, £35,602 on the fringe, £39,195 in outer London and £41,728 in inner London. Progression to M2 follows successful appraisal, normally after a year.
What was the teacher pay scale in 25/26 compared with now?
Every current point divided by 1.035 gives the 2025/26 figure: M1 was approximately £32,916 and M6 approximately £45,352 in the rest of England. Our dedicated 2025/26 page keeps the full archived tables for reference.
Sources
Related tools and guides
the STPCD pay scales
Every UK teacher pay scale point for 2026/27: main, upper and unqualified ranges across England, London, Wales
Teacher Pay Scale 2025/26: Archived Tables & Context
The 2025/26 teacher pay scale archived and reconstructed: derived points for every region, why old rates still
Teacher Pay Rise 2026/27: The 3.5% Award
The 2026/27 teacher pay rise was 3.5% from 1 September. See the cash increase at every pay point from M1 to U3
Main Pay Range 2026/27: M1–M6 Explained
The 2026/27 main pay range: every M1–M6 point by region, how progression works each year, what an M6 salary pa
Upper Pay Range 2026/27: U1–U3 and the Threshold
The upper pay range for 2026/27: every U1–U3 point by region, what UPS3 pays, how to cross the threshold and h
Unqualified Teacher Pay Scale 2026/27: UQ1–UQ6
Every unqualified teacher salary point for 2026/27: UQ1–UQ6 across England, London, Wales and NI, how placemen