Teacher main pay scale 2026/27
M1 is £34,069 and M6 is £46,940 outside London from 1 September 2026. Full time, that is about £2,169 to £2,831 a month after tax, NI and Teachers' Pension.
Main pay range 2026/27
Qualified classroom teachers in England usually start on the main pay range. It runs from M1 to M6. M1 is the statutory minimum and M6 the statutory maximum; M2 to M5 are advisory points.
Take-home a month in each pay area
Full time, paying into the Teachers' Pension, tax code 1257L and no student loan. Each cell shows take-home pay a month, with the full-time yearly salary underneath.
| Point | Rest of England | London fringe | Outer London | Inner London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £2,169£34,069 | £2,254£35,602 | £2,412£39,196 | £2,549£41,729 |
| M2 | £2,278£36,042 | £2,329£37,647 | £2,523£41,246 | £2,657£43,713 |
| M3 | £2,369£38,400 | £2,455£39,979 | £2,640£43,403 | £2,769£45,787 |
| M4 | £2,507£40,941 | £2,592£42,513 | £2,763£45,673 | £2,886£47,961 |
| M5 | £2,647£43,529 | £2,730£45,070 | £2,912£48,438 | £3,001£50,666 |
| M6 | £2,831£46,940 | £2,914£48,479 | £3,093£52,241 | £3,203£54,131 |
Early career teachers
M1 is the statutory minimum starting salary for a qualified teacher: £34,069 outside London and £41,729 in Inner London from 1 September 2026. Full time, that is about £2,169 a month after tax, NI and pension outside London. Your school can start you higher on the range if its pay policy allows.
Pay and deductions by area
Yearly figures for a full-time teacher. Pension is the Teachers' Pension contribution, with the rate in brackets. Each figure is rounded to the nearest pound, so the columns may not add up exactly.
Rest of England
| Point | Pay a year | Pension | Income tax | NI | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £34,069 | £2,521 (7.4%) | £3,796 | £1,720 | £26,032 |
| M2 | £36,042 | £2,667 (7.4%) | £4,161 | £1,878 | £27,336 |
| M3 | £38,400 | £3,418 (8.9%) | £4,482 | £2,066 | £28,434 |
| M4 | £40,941 | £3,644 (8.9%) | £4,945 | £2,270 | £30,082 |
| M5 | £43,529 | £3,874 (8.9%) | £5,417 | £2,477 | £31,761 |
| M6 | £46,940 | £4,178 (8.9%) | £6,038 | £2,750 | £33,974 |
London fringe
| Point | Pay a year | Pension | Income tax | NI | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £35,602 | £2,635 (7.4%) | £4,079 | £1,843 | £27,045 |
| M2 | £37,647 | £3,351 (8.9%) | £4,345 | £2,006 | £27,945 |
| M3 | £39,979 | £3,558 (8.9%) | £4,770 | £2,193 | £29,458 |
| M4 | £42,513 | £3,784 (8.9%) | £5,232 | £2,395 | £31,102 |
| M5 | £45,070 | £4,011 (8.9%) | £5,698 | £2,600 | £32,761 |
| M6 | £48,479 | £4,315 (8.9%) | £6,319 | £2,873 | £34,973 |
Outer London
| Point | Pay a year | Pension | Income tax | NI | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £39,196 | £3,488 (8.9%) | £4,628 | £2,130 | £28,950 |
| M2 | £41,246 | £3,671 (8.9%) | £5,001 | £2,294 | £30,280 |
| M3 | £43,403 | £3,863 (8.9%) | £5,394 | £2,467 | £31,679 |
| M4 | £45,673 | £4,065 (8.9%) | £5,808 | £2,648 | £33,152 |
| M5 | £48,438 | £4,311 (8.9%) | £6,311 | £2,869 | £34,946 |
| M6 | £52,241 | £5,172 (9.9%) | £6,900 | £3,055 | £37,114 |
Inner London
| Point | Pay a year | Pension | Income tax | NI | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | £41,729 | £3,714 (8.9%) | £5,089 | £2,333 | £30,593 |
| M2 | £43,713 | £3,890 (8.9%) | £5,451 | £2,491 | £31,881 |
| M3 | £45,787 | £4,075 (8.9%) | £5,828 | £2,657 | £33,226 |
| M4 | £47,961 | £4,269 (8.9%) | £6,224 | £2,831 | £34,637 |
| M5 | £50,666 | £5,016 (9.9%) | £6,616 | £3,024 | £36,010 |
| M6 | £54,131 | £5,359 (9.9%) | £7,240 | £3,093 | £38,438 |
Part-time pay
Part-time pay is pro rata: the full-time salary × your share of a full-time contract. Your Teachers' Pension rate is set by your actual salary, so it can be lower when you work part time. These examples are for M1 and M6 outside London.
| Example | Pay a year | Pension rate | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1, full time | £34,069 | 7.4% | £26,032 | £2,169 |
| M1, 0.8 of full time | £27,255.20 | 7.4% | £21,530 | £1,794 |
| M1, 0.6 of full time | £20,441.40 | 7.4% | £17,027 | £1,419 |
| M6, full time | £46,940 | 8.9% | £33,974 | £2,831 |
| M6, 0.8 of full time | £37,552 | 8.9% | £27,883 | £2,324 |
| M6, 0.6 of full time | £28,164 | 7.4% | £22,130 | £1,844 |
For example, M1 at 0.6 of full time is £20,441.40 a year, which is in the 7.4% pension tier. Use the calculator above for any other percentage.
Moving up the main pay range
There is no automatic yearly step set nationally. Your school's pay policy decides how and when you move up. The advisory points M2 to M5 are a guide, and the school can pay any salary between M1 and M6.
The 2026 pay award
The School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) recommended a 3.5% rise to all pay ranges and advisory points for teachers and school leaders in England from 1 September 2026, with 5% on the minimum of the unqualified teacher range outside London. The Government accepted the recommendations in full on 1 July 2026, and the award is back-dated to 1 September 2026. It also accepted a 3% rise from 1 September 2027.
M1 outside London rises from £32,916 in 2025/26 to £34,069, and M6 from £45,352 to £46,940. The figures here come from the pay tables in the STRB 36th Report. The formal School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2026, which puts the new pay ranges into effect, is due to be published (the Department for Education said in mid-October). We will check these figures against it when it is.
More teacher pay
See every range and pay area in the teacher pay calculator, or compare with the upper pay scale and unqualified teacher pay scale pages. Working in the NHS? Try the NHS pay calculator. For any other salary, use the take home pay calculator.
How this is worked out
We take the full-time salary for your pay area, range and point from the pay tables in the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) 36th Report, which the Government accepted, and multiply it by your part-time percentage. Your Teachers' Pension rate is picked from that actual yearly pay and taken off before income tax. Income tax, National Insurance and student loan then use the same 2026/27 rules as our take home pay calculator.
What this calculator assumes
- Pay ranges and advisory points for teachers in England from 1 September 2026, as recommended in the STRB 36th Report and accepted by the Government on 1 July 2026. The formal School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2026 had not been published on 12 October 2026; it is due to be published, and we will check these figures against it.
- The 2026/27 tax year: England income tax rates, tax code 1257L and no other income. Tax rates and pension tiers can change from April 2027.
- Teachers' Pension is one rate on all your pensionable pay, chosen by your actual yearly salary (after any part-time reduction), using the tiers in force from 1 April 2026. It comes off before income tax; National Insurance and student loan are worked out on full pay.
- Not included: teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments, special educational needs (SEN) allowances, other allowances, extra duties, salary sacrifice schemes and employer pension contributions.
- The same pay every month, rounded to the nearest pound. Your payslip works out tax and NI each month, and back pay for the award can make one month look different.
Sources
- School Teachers' Review Body 36th Report 2026 (PDF, GOV.UK)
- School Teachers' Review Body 36th report: 2026 (GOV.UK)
- Teacher pay: everything you need to know about the latest multi-year pay award (DfE Education Hub, 16 September 2026)
- School teachers' pay and conditions (GOV.UK)
- Calculating contributions (Teachers' Pensions)
- What is a Teachers' Pension? (Teachers' Pensions)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
- Repaying your student loan: what you pay (GOV.UK)
Checked against GOV.UK, the Department for Education and Teachers' Pensions on 12 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
Full time, with Teachers' Pension contributions and no student loan, M1 takes home about £2,169 a month outside London (£34,069 a year) and about £2,549 a month in Inner London (£41,729).
M1, the statutory minimum of the main pay range, is £34,069 in the rest of England, £35,602 in the London fringe, £39,196 in Outer London and £41,729 in Inner London from 1 September 2026.
Not automatically. Only M1 and M6 are set nationally; M2 to M5 are advisory. Your school's pay policy decides when you move up and by how much.
Full time outside London, the Teachers' Pension rate is 7.4% at M1 and M2, and 8.9% at M3 to M6. In Inner London it is 8.9% at M1 to M4, and 9.9% at M5 and M6. The rate is set by your actual salary, so part-time teachers may pay less.