Pay & Conditions

The latest news and analysis on teacher pay and school staff working conditions, including pay rise negotiations, pay scales, pensions and more

Thursday

24th Sep 2026

Unions urge DfE to scrap teacher bonus plans
New performance awards risk creating inequality, warn the NAHT and NASUWT as the unions call for changes to the government’s pay reforms
Unions urge government to scrap bonus payments
SEND to absorb most of school funding rise, IFS warns
Mainstream funding will rise by 3 per cent in real terms despite a 9 per cent headline increase in per-pupil spending, analysis finds
IFS

Monday

21st Sep 2026

How reducing central team headcount cut top slice costs
A trust CEO outlines the tough but necessary steps they took to save money and reduce top slice spend from 6.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent
Tom Leverage

Friday

18th Sep 2026

Headteacher gender pay gap ‘widest since records began’
Average pay gap for all state school heads increased to an ‘unacceptable’ £9,771, finds analysis by the NAHT school leaders’ union
Headteacher gender pay gap 'widest since records began'

Thursday

17th Sep 2026

Is the teacher pay rise ‘fully funded’?
Schools have been told they can cover this year’s teacher pay rise through pension savings. ÌÇÐÄVlog explains what this actually means for budgets
Is the teacher pay rise ‘fully funded'?

Wednesday

9th Sep 2026

Quarter of schools cannot afford teacher pay rise, union warns
NASUWT urges the government to increase education spending to at least 6 per cent of GDP, saying that schools will be forced to cut jobs
Sorting out finances

Friday

7th Aug 2026

Most teachers to pay less into their pension under new plans
DfE launches consultation on cutting employee contribution rates for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme across most salary bands
Teacher pension contributions to fall

Friday

17th Jul 2026

Revealed: Where heads’ pay soars above MAT salary limit
Experts warn the DfE plan to control trust chief executives’ pay could deter heads from becoming CEOs, and the £174K approval threshold could effectively become a pay ceiling
A man holding a ladder looks up to the next level that he must ascend to in order to eventually reach the top.
Exclusive

Thursday

16th Jul 2026

Revealed: The trusts DfE has questioned over CEO pay
Government publishes the names of academy trusts it has contacted to demand evidence over pay decisions
MAT CEO pay
NEU to launch formal strike ballot over funding and pay
The union’s decision comes after it was revealed that schools will have to fund half of next year’s teacher pay rise themselves
A picture of Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union.
Exclusive

Monday

13th Jul 2026

Unions gauge support for industrial action over teacher pay
Teachers and leaders to be polled on action as findings reveal anger over next year’s 3.5 per cent pay award
Unions are gauging views on a formal ballot for industrial action over pay as polling shows increased anger in the profession over this year's deal
Exclusive

Friday

10th Jul 2026

Pretending every trust is the same won’t solve pay concerns
Creating a negotiating body for school support staff feels like a sensible step, but it could reduce the flexibility that has made trusts so successful, says CST deputy Steve Rollett
Steve Rollett