A newly qualified teacher (NQT) will earn a minimum of £21,588 (£27,000 in inner London) but could start higher up the scale depending on previous experience. Some independent schools might pay up to about £5,000 more than that.
Subject to satisfactory performance, teachers on the main pay scale move to the next point on the scale each September and may advance by two points if their performance is excellent. In this way, classroom teachers can expect to progress to about £31,500 after five years (just over £36,000 in inner London). Qualified teachers who reach the top of their main pay scale can apply to be assessed against eight national standards, and if they meet these standards, cross the ‘threshold’ to the upper pay scale. Upper pay scale salaries extend to £ 40,300 (£ 45,000 in inner London).
Advanced Skills Teachers – teachers who have a role sharing good practice with others – earn from £ 38,500 to £ 58,000. (£44,500 to £64,000 in inner London)
Leadership group teachers earn £38,500 (minimum). Headteachers earn from £43,500 to £106,000 (equivalent figures for inner London leadership teachers are £44,500 (minimum) and a salary range of £49,500 to £112,000 for headteachers). Salaries in the independent sector are substantially higher.
Promotion within schools and colleges often involves spending less time in the classroom, either by specialising in pastoral matters or in school management. A career with a pastoral emphasis might involve becoming a head of year, then a head of section of school and then a deputy head with overall responsibility for pastoral matters. Management posts include administration of examinations and timetabling. There is also plenty of scope for statisticians to get involved in analysis of examination results and other performance measures throughout a school. Promotion through the academic ranks might include becoming a head of department, a head of faculty and eventually deputy head with responsibility for curriculum.
Many teachers also work for examination boards, usually beginning as markers for GCSE or A level papers (or the equivalent in Scotland). This can lead to higher responsibility: co-ordinating teams of markers, deciding on the awarding of grades, setting and checking examination papers, and developing new syllabuses and assessment methods. Those with considerable experience as senior examiners may be invited to work with one of the government bodies that monitor academic standards set by the examination boards.
See the Department for Education’s Teacher Agency website for further details.