Unqualified teacher pay

Unqualified teachers in England are paid on the unqualified teachers’ pay range, which from 1 September 2026 runs from £23,732 to £36,494 outside London. The minimum rose by 5%, more than the 3.5% given on the rest of teachers’ pay. Once you gain qualified teacher status (QTS), you move onto the main pay range, which starts at £34,069 outside London.

The range in each pay area

The range has six points from minimum to maximum. These are the minimum and maximum in each area from 1 September 2026, as recommended by the School Teachers’ Review Body and accepted by the government.

Area	Minimum	Maximum
England excluding London	£23,732	£36,494
London fringe	£24,909	£38,004
Outer London	£27,727	£40,831
Inner London	£29,336	£42,429

The 5% applies to the minimum of the range outside London, and the rest of the range went up by 3.5%. Maintained schools cannot pay the new rates until the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2026 is in force, which the Local Government Association expects around early November 2026, backdated to 1 September 2026.

Who is paid on this range

The range covers anyone employed to teach in a maintained school in England who does not hold QTS. In practice that includes:

• salaried trainees on School Direct (salaried) or a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship, while they train
• instructors employed to teach a specialist skill, such as a trade, a sport or a musical instrument
• teachers trained overseas who have not yet been awarded QTS in England
• people working as unqualified teachers while they decide whether to train

Academies and free schools can employ teachers without QTS and set their own pay. Many follow the national range and some use their own scales, so check the pay policy or the job advert.

Cover supervisors have a different job on support staff pay. They supervise classes using work set by a teacher, while an unqualified teacher plans and teaches. The cover supervisor profile explains the difference.

Where you start and how you move up

The school decides where on the range to start you, taking into account your qualifications, experience and the post. Progression up the six points follows the school’s pay policy, usually linked to an annual review. The school can also pay an additional allowance to an unqualified teacher who takes on extra responsibility or brings qualifications or experience the school wants. The school sets the amount, and the pay document lists the criteria.

At the bottom of the range the gap with qualified pay is large. Outside London, the unqualified minimum of £23,732 is £10,337 below M1. At the top, the unqualified maximum of £36,494 is above M2 (£36,042), so an experienced unqualified teacher can earn more than a newly qualified one.

Routes to QTS

Moving onto the main pay range needs QTS. The routes in England include:

• a PGCE with QTS
• School Direct, either fee-funded or salaried
• school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT)
• a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship
• an undergraduate degree with QTS
• a teacher degree apprenticeship, currently a pilot in maths

Fee-paying postgraduate trainees can get a bursary in some subjects for 2026/27: £29,000 for chemistry, computing, maths and physics, £20,000 for design and technology and languages, and £5,000 for biology and geography. Scholarships of £31,000 (chemistry, computing and physics) and £22,000 (French, German and Spanish) are available instead of a bursary. Salaried trainees cannot get a bursary, but schools hosting them receive grants at the same per-subject amounts. The teacher training routes and bursaries guides cover the detail.

Once you hold QTS, statutory induction as an early career teacher lasts the equivalent of two full-time school years, usually six terms, pro rata if you work part-time. Academies, free schools and independent schools are not legally required to offer induction, though many do. See what QTS is for how it is awarded.

Pension, tax and take-home pay

Unqualified teachers in state schools are in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. On a salary rate up to £36,198.99 the member contribution from 1 April 2026 is 7.4%, so most of the unqualified range sits in the lowest tier. The top of the range in London crosses into the 8.9% tier.

On £23,732, income tax at 20% applies to £11,162 above the £12,570 personal allowance, and National Insurance at 8% applies to the same slice. If you are repaying a Plan 5 student loan, the threshold is £25,000, so nothing is taken at the minimum. The take-home pay calculator works out the monthly figure, and teaching vacancies in England, including unqualified and instructor posts, are on the teaching jobs board.

Wales

Wales sets its own unqualified range. The Welsh Government’s proposal for 2026/27, still under consultation, is 5% for unqualified teachers and 3.5% for others. The teacher pay in Wales guide has the latest position.