School staff set for pay rise

The Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has accepted all the recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body to raise the starting salary for new teachers by 5.5% and increase the upper and lower boundaries of the pay ranges for all other teachers by 2.75%. 

These recommendations are equivalent to a 3.1% increase in the overall pay bill.

This represents the first step to delivering the Government’s commitment to increase teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000 by 2022/23, with a 5.5% increase worth between £1,341 and £1,677, depending on location.

The pay increase is equivalent to £1,250 on average for teachers and £1,970 on average for headteachers.

This means the minimum starting salary for a qualified teacher in 2020/21 will rise to £25,714 outside of London, rising to £32,157 in inner London. Experienced teachers at the top of the upper pay range could see an increase between £1,114 and £1,364, from £40,490 to £41,604 (rest of England) and from £49,571 to £50,935 (inner London).

The School Teachers’ Review Body has also recommended the introduction of advisory pay points on the main and upper pay range to support schools to adopt a pay structure which best supports recruitment and retention. This sets out a possible pathway of pay progression through which teachers can be recognised and rewarded as they build their expertise in the classroom.