Teacher Workforce

High quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes, breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child. Recruiting, retaining and supporting expert teachers across schools and colleges is central to delivering high and rising standards for all children and young people.

Despite a challenging financial context, progress is being made. We have made a record investment in schools, with the core schools budget increasing by £1.7 billion in 2026-27, and teacher pay has increased by almost 10% since this Government took power. Compared to 2023-24, there are 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools, 1,646 more teachers in colleges, and the number of trainee school teachers are up 13% on last year. Retention is also stronger across schools and colleges, with leaver rates in schools now at 8.5%—the lowest since at least 2010 (outside the pandemic years). More teachers are returning to state schools than at any point in the last 10 years.

There is still further to go. That is why our 6,500 delivery plan set out a comprehensive plan for the rest of this Parliament, and our recent White Paper “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” committed to go further to support and invest in the workforce, including:

Doubling the period of full maternity pay to eight weeks, and funding similar improvements for support staff and college staff.

Giving teachers the training they need through a new and improved teacher training entitlement, to ensure that every teacher and leader can access high-quality professional development, alongside more than £200 million over three years for our SEND CPD programme.

Supporting excellence in leadership, including through a new mentoring and coaching offer for headteachers as well as wellbeing support for up to 2,500 leaders annually, and piloting a new place-based headteacher retention incentive.

Working in partnership with the profession across our sectors, including through the improving education together agreement with unions and employers, so that policy works in practice.

This Government have prioritised teacher pay. Last year, I accepted in full the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendation of a 4% pay award, delivering an increase of almost 10% over two years. Alongside this, we provided an additional £190 million to colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help them drive forward the recruitment and retention of excellent teachers, building the skills and opportunities our economy needs.

This year, I sought the STRB’s recommendations for pay awards for the next two years, as well as their indicative recommendation for 2028-29. Today, I am announcing that I am accepting in full the independent STRB’s recommendations for the next two years. From September 2026, teachers and leaders will receive a pay award of 3.5%, followed by a further 3% increase from September 2027. I am also accepting the STRB’s recommendation to uplift the bottom of the unqualified teacher pay range in the rest of England by 5%, supporting employment-based routes into teaching, including apprenticeships.

Taken together, this means school teachers will have seen a 17% increase in pay since this Government took office, delivering a real-terms increase (based on Bank of England CPI forecasts). By September 2027, starting salaries will exceed £35,000, helping to attract talented graduates, while the average schoolteacher salary is expected to rise to over £54,400, supporting retention and experience in the classroom.

I recognise the vital role that school support staff play, and I will continue to build on work already under way, such as establishing the new School Support Staff Negotiating Body. Most support staff have already been offered a 3.3% pay increase in ’26-27 through the National Joint Council for Local Government Services process, subject to agreement, and I thank them for their continued contribution to children and young people’s education.

I am also announcing that from 1 September 2026 executive pay must not rise faster than teacher pay. And for any new appointment where the pay exceeds £174,000, trusts will need to seek Government approval before they can even advertise the role in line with HM Treasury senior pay guidance. We want the best leaders running our schools— but executive pay must represent real value for money for pupils and parents.

We recognise that the costs associated with the pay awards are higher than what was proposed to the STRB. The Department is providing £700 million additional funding for schools in this financial year to support them with the cost of staff pay awards, rising to £1,115 million in 2027-28, on top of the funding already provided in their existing budgets. This additional funding will come from DFE budgets. This significant additional investment, on top of funding increases announced at the 2025 spending review (including funding for SEND reform), will see the Department fund the majority of these above-inflation pay awards across both 2026-27 and 2027-28 at a national level. Put together, this investment demonstrates even in a tight fiscal environment that this Government are prioritising education.

Recognising the vital role that colleges and other FE providers play in building the skilled pipeline of workers to power our economy, the Department is also providing around £120 million of additional funding for further education in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £365 million in 2027-28, which will come from DFE budgets. This substantial investment will help ensure that young people receive the quality education they need regardless of their setting, furthering their opportunities and supporting economic growth.

As we have stated throughout the pay process, schools will need to continue to absorb a portion of the cost of pay awards over the next two years. This is in line with asks of the whole public sector to maximise the impact of every Government pound spent. We expect schools to absorb approximately the first 1% of pay awards in both 2026-27 and 2027-28 through implementing plans to realise and sustain better value from their existing spend. This is 1% on average, based on our affordability assessment set out in the schools’ costs technical note, and makes an assumption of equal pay awards for all staff in financial year 2027-28. The remaining costs of pay awards above the first 1% will be covered through funding as announced at the 2025 spending review, as set out in the 2026 schools’ costs technical note, and through the additional funding announced today. Additional funding for 2027-28 will be rolled into the national funding formula, which we will publish in the autumn. Taken together, the new funding, existing funding and the 1% absorbed through better value from existing spending are expected to cover the overall cost of pay awards over 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Building on the work schools have done last year to contribute towards the cost of pay awards, we are supporting schools to maximise existing resources to deliver this pay award and support every child to achieve and thrive with clear expectations on pay over a longer time horizon.

For too long schools and trusts have been left to negotiate commercial contracts alone, working with suppliers with significant resources, specialist teams, and a commercial interest in maximising what they charge. Government have a role to play and through our Maximising Value for Pupils programme https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maximising-value-for-pupils/maximising-value-for-pupils we are using the collective weight of the entire school system to push back through:

DFE Energy for Schools https://get-help-buying-for-schools.education.gov.uk/categories/energy/energy-for-schools which aggregates buying power across the sector and provides protection from market volatility and sudden price increases driven by global events. Benchmarking shows a typical primary school could save £4,900 per year on electricity and gas combined, and a typical secondary school could save £23,200.

The new supply teachers and education recruitment framework https://get-help-buying-for-schools.education.gov.uk/categories/recruitment-hr-training/supply-teachers which caps supplier margins and waives temporary-to-permanent fees after 12 weeks. Schools could save between 5% and 24% on the total cost of a supply teacher under the new framework.

Our free banking comparison tool https://banking-for-schools.education.gov.uk/site/LEUFJZNSINPDVTWF/index.html which makes it straightforward to compare options and unlock better returns without necessarily switching banks. A savings platform is also available. Bishop Hogarth Trust went from £16,000 to over £1 million a year in returns after reviewing their arrangements.

We have also started the process of establishing a national procurement framework for management information systems on behalf of every school in England to secure transparent pricing, consistent data security, and clear supplier accountability.

We expect all schools and trusts to use the new management information systems framework, agency supply framework and our new energy for schools service (or approved deals), unless schools and trusts have an alternative compliant agreement with rates which do not exceed those available through these deals. We will update the academy trust handbook by September to reflect these expectations.

As with schools, we ask colleges and other further education providers to continue to maximise value from their budgets. The comparable funding we are announcing today will help address immediate staffing pressures in the sector, but providers should continue to leverage opportunities from rising student numbers and effective commercial arrangements to ensure every pound counts in delivering high-quality outcomes for learners. Colleges will also continue to have access to a suite of support from the Further Education Commissioner to help them maximise value.

Alongside the additional funding in respect of pay and recruitment and retention in 2027-28, there will also be funding adjustments to reflect the valuation of teachers’ pensions contributions. From April 2027, schools and colleges will see the costs of their employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme decrease in line with the 31 March 2024 valuations published today. This change will not reduce the value of the defined-benefit teachers’ pension for current or retired teachers, and the TPS remains one of the best pension schemes available. When schools and colleges have faced increasing pension costs in recent years funding has been uplifted, so it is only right that funding is adjusted for this change. The funding will remain proportionate with contributions at a national level.

The teacher pay award is part of our comprehensive approach to building a system that enables every child to achieve and thrive, reforming education while valuing those who deliver it.

I am also committed to delivering on the ambitions of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act—ensuring every state school teacher can rely on a core pay offer, and building in additional flexibilities to enable all schools to innovate and attract and retain the top talent they need. This is part of my drive to reform working conditions which are fundamental to the quality of teachers’ and leaders’ professional experience.

I know that many teachers work significantly more than 1,265 hours. To be clear, the Department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1,265 directed hours limit. On the contrary, I want to build a comprehensive picture on how working hours arrangements interact with and impact on workload, which is why I remitted the STRB for their views on working hours arrangements and I continue to be committed to reducing teacher workload. I am pleased to announce changes to the school teacher pay and conditions that give schools more flexibility with inset days and clarify protections on leaders’ working time.

After careful consideration and further review of the evidence put forward by statutory consultees, I have decided not to reduce the salary safeguarding period at this current time and to retain the three year existing protection for teachers.

I am accepting the STRB’s recommendation to enable schools to offer non-consolidated payments/bonuses to teachers, so they too have the option to offer modest recognition schemes to reward their staff. This extends the flexibilities that academies have operated to maintained schools giving them the option to be innovative in their approach to rewarding staff.

The 36th report of the School Teachers Review Body, responding to the remit issued on 22 July 2025, is being published today. The report will be presented to Parliament and published on gov.uk.

For 2026-27, the STRB recommended an increase of 3.5% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances and a 5% uplift to the bottom of the unqualified teacher range (rest of England). For 2027-28 the STRB recommended an increase of 3% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances. The STRB also recommended an indicative increase of 3% to all teacher pay ranges and allowances for 2028-29. This pay award applies to all teachers in maintained schools. The Government are accepting the recommendations for 2026-27 and 2027-28 in full.

Alongside the pay award, we have accepted the STRB’s recommendation to allow schools to have the option to offer modest recognition schemes to reward additional contribution beyond core duties. However, after careful consideration, we have decided to retain the existing salary safeguarding provision for teachers and leaders at this time.

The STRB also gave their views on working hours. We are implementing suggestions on inset flexibility and leaders’ working time protections and Department for Education officials will consider the full scope of the wider views and suggestions in future policy development.

The Department for Education will now consult all statutory consultees of the STRB on the Government’s response to these recommendations and on a revised school teachers’ pay and conditions document and pay order. The consultation will last for 12 weeks, and the STPCD will be published as soon as possible.

We are providing schools with £700 million in additional funding in financial year 2026-27 rising to £1,115 million in 2027-28 to support them with their overall costs, including teacher and support staff pay awards. The additional funding for pre-16 schools and high needs providers will be distributed through the schools budget support grant 2026, with funding for eligible early years providers being distributed via the early years teacher pay grant 2026. Funding for 16 to 19 schools will be distributed via 16 to 19 allocations to support post-16 provision in schools and academies.

Through SBSG 26, we will provide £522 million for mainstream schools in respect of their provision for pupils aged 5 to 16; nearly £98 million for high needs providers; and nearly £14 million for centrally employed staff. Nearly £18 million will also be provided in respect of early years provision in schools provided through the EYTPG 26. We will provide around £49 million to 16 to 19 schools to support post-16 provision in schools and academies.

Further information for schools on the methodology, conditions of grant and per-pupil rates, as well as a calculator tool for the additional funding in respect of pay in 2026-27 will be published shortly. The overall design and distribution will reflect previous pay grants.

The Department is making available additional funding of around £120 million in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £365 million in financial year 2027-28, to support colleges and other FE providers to address immediate staffing pressures and deliver our ambitious skills and qualifications reforms.

Taken together with the additional funding for post-16 provision in schools and academies which comes from within the overall schools funding envelope, around £170 million will be available for post-16 funding in financial year 2026-27, rising to around £535 million in 2027-28.

Funding for schools and colleges will be reduced to reflect the decreased cost at national level and thus be cost neutral for public sector employers as a whole. Schools and colleges will see the costs of their employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme decrease by £3 billion in 2027-28 following the valuation of teachers’ pension contributions. Funding for schools and colleges will decrease by the same amount.

For mainstream schools, the adjustment will be incorporated into the 2027-28 schools national funding formula which will be published in the autumn. This will incorporate the decrease into core school funding allocations from 1 April 2027 for maintained schools and 1 September 2027 for academies. A separate adjustment will be made to allocations for academies in respect of the period from 1 April to 31 August 2027. We will provide further details on how that will operate alongside details of the SBSG 26.

Equivalent funding reductions will also be made for special and alternative provision schools from 2027-28, through adjustments to local authorities’ high needs allocations within their 2027-28 dedicated schools grant. We will provide more detail on how those adjustments will be made and passed on to providers later in the year.

For colleges and post-16 schools, we will reduce payments accordingly through the teacher pensions scheme employer contribution grants. We will provide further detail on how these adjustments will be made in due course.

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