Teacher Salaries in UK Schools
The teaching pay scales in the UK are agreed nationally; this allows you to be secure in the amount you earn if moving between schools and provides opportunity to identify expected pay rises. Progressing through the teacher pay scale used to be straightforward but the introduction of more stringent performance-related pay means it tends to be less linear. Always enter pay-related meetings fully versed on the process and evidence required. The Main pay scale for teachers allows you to move from M1-M6 whilst undertaking regular classroom duty; TLRs and UPS would usually rely on significant responsibility being undertaken and certain quality assurance measures being met. Teacher Pay Scales increase the closer you get to Inner London; you can see from the table below that an NQT on M1 would earn £25,714 outside of the London area e.g. Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and would earn £32,157 for teaching in Inner London e.g. Hammersmith, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth. Bear in mind that a London teacher salary is higher due to the increased costs associated with living in the Capital.
What is the hourly rate for teachers?
Interested to learn how much you earn per hour as a UK teacher? I have done the maths and the results might shock you (or make you cry). I also explain how taking a £7k pay cut means I have more time with my family and bring home more money! Read the guide to Hourly Pay for Teachers.
Main Teacher Pay Scale for UK schools (MPS) 2020-2021
| Outside London | London Fringe | Outer London | Inner London | |
| M1 | £25,714 | £26,948 | £29,915 | £32,157 |
| M2 | £27,600 | £28,828 | £31,604 | £33,658 |
| M3 | £29,664 | £30,883 | £33,383 | £35,226 |
| M4 | £31,778 | £32,999 | £35,264 | £36,866 |
| M5 | £34,100 | £35,307 | £38,052 | £39,492 |
| M6 | £36,961 | £38,174 | £41,136 | £42,624 |
Upper Pay Scale for UK Schools (UPS) 2020-2021
| Outside London | London Fringe | Outer London | Inner London | |
| U1 | £38,690 | £39,864 | £42,559 | £46,971 |
| U2 | £40,124 | £41,295 | £44,133 | £49,279 |
| U3 | £41,604 | £42,780 | £45,766 | £50,935 |
Leadership Pay Scale for UK Schools 2020-2021
| Outside London | London Fringe | Outer London | Inner London | |
| L1 | £42,195 | £43,356 | £45,542 | £50,167 |
| L2 | £43,251 | £44,415 | £46,601 | £51,229 |
| L3 | £44,331 | £45,495 | £47,676 | £52,313 |
| L4 | £45,434 | £46,604 | £48,785 | £53,414 |
| L5 | £46,566 | £47,737 | £49,919 | £54,552 |
| L6 | £47,735 | £48,901 | £51,082 | £55,715 |
| L7 | £49,019 | £50,190 | £52,371 | £57,003 |
| L8 | £50,151 | £51,314 | £53,499 | £58,132 |
| L9 | £51,402 | £52,568 | £54,750 | £59,380 |
| L10 | £52,723 | £53,888 | £56,072 | £60,701 |
| L11 | £54,091 | £55,254 | £57,436 | £62,066 |
| L12 | £55,338 | £56,506 | £58,688 | £63,319 |
| L13 | £56,721 | £57,890 | £60,073 | £64,700 |
| L14 | £58,135 | £59,302 | £61,479 | £66,114 |
| L15 | £59,581 | £60,744 | £62,926 | £67,556 |
| L16 | £61,166 | £62,333 | £64,514 | £69,146 |
| L17 | £62,570 | £63,746 | £65,921 | £70,552 |
| L18 | £64,143 | £65,310 | £67,496 | £72,125 |
| L19 | £65,735 | £66,900 | £69,087 | £73,715 |
| L20 | £67,364 | £68,536 | £70,713 | £75,345 |
| L21 | £69,031 | £70,204 | £72,383 | £77,011 |
| L22 | £70,745 | £71,914 | £74,090 | £78,725 |
| L23 | £72,497 | £73,661 | £75,842 | £80,472 |
| L24 | £74,295 | £75,466 | £77,643 | £82,277 |
| L25 | £76,141 | £77,307 | £79,489 | £84,119 |
| L26 | £78,025 | £79,195 | £81,372 | £86,001 |
| L27 | £79,958 | £81,124 | £83,305 | £87,933 |
| L28 | £81,942 | £83,105 | £85,290 | £89,919 |
| L29 | £83,971 | £85,139 | £87,316 | £91,953 |
| L30 | £86,061 | £87,221 | £89,406 | £94,039 |
| L31 | £88,187 | £89,357 | £91,539 | £96,168 |
| L32 | £90,379 | £91,549 | £93,724 | £98,355 |
| L33 | £92,624 | £93,795 | £95,975 | £100,604 |
| L34 | £94,914 | £96,083 | £98,263 | £102,894 |
| L35 | £97,273 | £98,443 | £100,620 | £105,253 |
| L36 | £99,681 | £100,848 | £103,026 | £107,658 |
| L37 | £102,159 | £103,327 | £105,509 | £110,142 |
| L38 | £104,687 | £105,855 | £108,037 | £112,664 |
| L39 | £107,239 | £108,402 | £110,584 | £115,215 |
| L40 | £109,914 | £111,086 | £113,266 | £117,898 |
| L41 | £112,660 | £113,828 | £116,010 | £120,645 |
| L42 | £115,483 | £116,653 | £118,828 | £123,461 |
| L43 | £117,197 | £118,356 | £120,513 | £125,098 |
Hi Alex,
Love reading your posts but think there’s an error on this one. UpS scales should start with a 3 !
Hmm.. how strange. I made an error when I was making the tables when I copy/pasted the MPS but updated. I can see them on my end as displaying correctly – can you see UPS1-3 displayed as M1, M2, M3 figures?