The gender pay gap between headteachers is the widest since records began 15 years ago, analysis shows.
The average pay gap for all state school heads increased to £9,771, according to analysis of Department for Education data by the NAHT school leaders’ union.
This is up from £8,858 in 2024-25 and the largest gap since records began in 2011, the NAHT has found.
The average gap for state secondary heads rose from £5,321 to £5,682, the analysis shows, while female heads in primary schools earned £2,601 less than their male counterparts, up from £1,984.
‘Unacceptable’ gender pay gap
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, described the gender pay gap as “unacceptable”, pointing out that most leadership and teaching roles are held by women.
“It is a systemic issue that undermines equality, devalues women’s contributions and weakens the integrity of the education system,” he said.
The NAHT has called on the government to review the equality implications of the current pay system.
The government must also renew or replace Equality and Diversity Hubs funding scrapped in 2020 to provide support to help women into leadership through mentoring and coaching, the union said.
The reasons for the pay gap are “complex”, the NAHT added, pointing to issues such as part-time working, unconscious bias and performance-related pay.
The gender pay gap also exists in other leadership roles, such as deputy and assistant headteacher roles. The gap in these roles increased from £4,203 in 2024-25 to £4,421 in 2025-26, according to the analysis.
The gap for classroom teachers, meanwhile, increased from £1,491 to £1,505.
Call for government to ‘get a grip on causes’
Mr Whiteman said: “The impact of a pay gap does not end with a monthly payslip. Even relatively small differences in earnings can compound over a career, affecting progression, pension contributions and retirement income, leaving women at a significant financial disadvantage long after they have left the workplace.”
He added: “We need the new government to prioritise this issue and urgently conduct a detailed pay equality analysis for gender and all protected characteristics as a first step towards getting a grip on the causes of this worrying gap.”
Vlog analysis previously found that the gender pay gap among leaders of the biggest multi-academy trusts has also widened sharply over the past three years.
And while male secondary heads earn more in every region of England, the size of the gender pay gap - and whether it is widening or narrowing - is heavily dependent on geography, Vlog had revealed previously.
