Amelia DaviesSchool Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2025–2026: A Complete Guide for Workers
The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2025–2026 is the statutory framework that governs pay and working conditions for approximately 500,000 teachers in maintained schools across England. Whether you are a newly qualified teacher stepping into your first classroom, an experienced practitioner considering a move to the upper pay range, or a school leader negotiating a leadership contract, understanding the STPCD is essential to knowing your rights.
This guide explains every key provision of the current document, which took effect on 1 September 2025 under the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (England) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/892), and remains in force until 31 August 2026.
What Is the STPCD?
The STPCD is a statutory instrument laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State for Education, acting on recommendations from the independent School Teachers' Review Body (STRB). Its provisions are legally binding on local authorities and the governing bodies of maintained schools in England, including foundation, voluntary aided, and foundation special schools.
The 2025 document reflects the STRB's 35th Report, published on 22 May 2025, which recommended a **4% pay award** across all pay ranges and allowances. That recommendation was accepted in full.
Importantly, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill — currently progressing through Parliament — will extend STPCD coverage to all academy schools from 2026, bringing an additional cohort of teachers within its statutory protections. For now, many academies voluntarily follow STPCD arrangements, but they are not legally required to do so until the legislation comes into force.
The major teaching unions — the National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT, NAHT, ASCL, and Voice — were consulted throughout the statutory process under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992), which underpins union recognition and collective consultation rights in the education sector.
Pay and Pay Award 2026
The 4% Award
From 1 September 2025, a 4% increase was applied to every pay range, allowance, and advisory spine point within the STPCD. For an average classroom teacher this translates to an increase of over £1,900 per year, and the government projects a median salary for classroom teachers in 2025–26 of over £51,000.
Main Pay Range (MPR)
The Main Pay Range applies to the majority of classroom teachers and runs from six advisory spine points (M1 to M6). The statutory minimum and maximum figures for 2025 are:
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England (outside London) | £32,916 | £45,352 |
| London Fringe | £34,398 | £46,839 |
| Outer London | £37,870 | £50,474 |
| Inner London | £40,317 | £52,300 |
The advisory spine points for England outside London run as follows: M1 £32,916 → M2 £34,823 → M3 £37,101 → M4 £39,556 → M5 £42,057 → M6 £45,352.
Schools are not obliged to follow the advisory points mechanically; governing bodies determine where on the range each teacher is placed, subject to their pay policy. Progression is linked to performance.
Upper Pay Range (UPR)
Experienced teachers who successfully apply to move to the upper pay range are paid within the following statutory limits:
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England (outside London) | £47,472 | £51,048 |
| London Fringe | £48,913 | £52,490 |
| Outer London | £52,219 | £56,154 |
| Inner London | £57,632 | £62,496 |
Teachers may apply for the upper pay range at least once per year through their school's pay policy. An application succeeds where the relevant body is satisfied that the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the Teachers' Standards, and that their achievements and contribution are substantial and sustained.
Leading Practitioner Pay Range
Teachers employed specifically to model and lead improvement of teaching skills across a school may be placed on the Leading Practitioner Pay Range:
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England (outside London) | £52,026 | £79,092 |
| London Fringe | £53,460 | £80,528 |
| Outer London | £56,154 | £83,223 |
| Inner London | £61,858 | £88,930 |
Leadership Group Pay Range
The Leadership Group pay range covers headteachers, deputy headteachers, and assistant headteachers. Each school is assigned to a headteacher group based on the size of its pupil roll, which then determines the applicable pay range. The overall leadership group range spans:
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England (outside London) | £51,773 | £143,796 |
| Inner London | £61,554 | £153,490 |
Unqualified Teacher Pay Range
Teachers without qualified teacher status (QTS) are paid within the Unqualified Teacher Pay Range:
| Area | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| England (outside London) | £22,601 | £35,259 |
| London Fringe | £24,066 | £36,718 |
| Outer London | £26,789 | £39,450 |
| Inner London | £28,343 | £40,994 |
On obtaining QTS, a teacher must be moved immediately onto the Main Pay Range at a salary that is at least equal to their former unqualified salary.
Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) Payments
Where a classroom teacher is asked to take on sustained additional responsibility focused on teaching and learning, the relevant body must award a TLR payment. The 2025 statutory bands are:
- TLR1 (requires line management of a significant number of staff): £10,174 – £17,216 per annum
- TLR2 (significant additional responsibility without a mandatory line management element): £3,527 – £8,611 per annum
- TLR3 (fixed-term, for clearly time-limited school improvement projects): £702 – £3,478 per annum
A new provision from 1 September 2025 allows schools to determine TLR1 and TLR2 values on a proportional basis where a teacher undertakes less than the full responsibility, making it easier for part-time teachers and those sharing responsibilities to be fairly rewarded. From 1 September 2026, this proportional approach becomes mandatory.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) Allowance
Classroom teachers working in special schools, designated special units, or qualifying non-designated SEN settings are entitled to a SEN allowance of between £2,787 and £5,497 per annum, with the exact amount determined by the relevant body according to the demands of the post and any mandatory qualifications required.
Working Hours and Leave Entitlement
Directed Time
A full-time teacher must be available for 195 days per school year, of which:
- 190 days may involve teaching pupils and performing other duties;
- 5 days are reserved for inservice training (INSET) and other non-teaching duties.
Within those 195 days, the teacher must be available for 1,265 directed hours, allocated reasonably across the school year by the headteacher.
Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) Time
Every teacher who teaches pupils is entitled to at least 10% of their timetabled teaching time as guaranteed PPA time, to be taken in blocks of no less than half an hour during the school's timetabled teaching week. Headteachers cannot require a teacher to perform other duties during PPA time.
Annual Leave and Bank Holidays
The STPCD does not set a specific number of annual leave days in the same way as many other employment contracts. Instead, teachers are employed for 195 school days; the remaining days in the calendar year constitute their holiday entitlement. In practice, a full-time teacher typically receives approximately 13 weeks of non-directed time per year, which significantly exceeds the 28-day statutory minimum (including 8 public holidays) prescribed by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998).
Schools must comply with the WTR 1998, which provides additional protections: teachers cannot be required to work more than an average of 48 hours per week (over a 17-week reference period), and must receive adequate rest breaks and daily and weekly rest periods.
Teachers may not be required to work on Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays unless their contract of employment expressly provides for this.
Redundancy Pay
Where a teacher is made redundant, they are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), provided they have at least two years' continuous service. The statutory formula is:
- Under 22: half a week's pay per year of service
- Age 22–40: one week's pay per year of service
- Age 41 and over: one and a half weeks' pay per year of service
Weekly pay for statutory purposes is capped at £700 (as of 2026), and the calculation covers a maximum of 20 years of service, giving a maximum statutory payment of £21,000.
Many maintained schools and local authorities operate under the Burgundy Book (the national collective agreement for teachers' terms and conditions), which provides for enhanced redundancy payments above the ERA 1996 statutory floor — typically calculated on actual weekly pay rather than the capped figure. Teachers should check their contract or consult their union to confirm which terms apply.
Notice Period
The STPCD does not set the contractual length of notice required to terminate a teacher's employment; this is governed by the individual contract of employment and by ERA 1996 s.86 as a statutory floor.
Under ERA 1996 s.86, the statutory minimum notice is:
- 1 week per completed year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks (for 12 or more years of service).
In practice, maintained school teacher contracts typically follow Burgundy Book convention, which requires:
- Two months' notice for classroom teachers (to expire at the end of a half-term), or
- Three months' notice for leadership group members.
Notice must generally expire at a term-end date: 31 October, 28 February, or 31 May. Teachers should confirm their notice obligations by checking their written contract, as required under ERA 1996 s.1.
Pension Rights
Teachers in maintained schools in England are members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), a statutory Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. Membership is automatic for eligible employees, consistent with the auto-enrolment requirements of the Pensions Act 2008.
Key features of the TPS:
- Scheme type: Defined benefit, career average
- Accrual rate: 1/57th of pensionable earnings credited each year
- Revaluation: Active members' earned pension is revalued each April in line with CPI + 1.6% per annum
- Employer contribution: 28.68% of pensionable pay (from April 2024, following the 2023 actuarial valuation)
- Employee contribution tiers: Contributions are salary-dependent, ranging from approximately 7.4% (on salaries up to the lower threshold) to 11.7% (on the highest salaries), with intermediate tiers at 8.6%, 9.6%, 10.2%, and 11.3%
The combined employer and employee contribution rate makes the TPS one of the most valuable pension schemes available to any group of workers in the UK. A teacher on the Main Pay Range mid-point (around £39,000) would typically contribute approximately 9.6% of pensionable pay, whilst their school employer contributes a further 28.68% — a total employer-plus-employee contribution approaching 38%.
Teachers may retire at their Normal Pension Age (NPA), which is aligned with their State Pension Age (minimum age 65). Early retirement options are available, subject to actuarial reduction.
Your Rights Under the Agreement
The STPCD and supporting legislation grant teachers a set of substantive rights that go beyond the general statutory employment floor:
- Guaranteed PPA time: A minimum of 10% of timetabled teaching time for planning, preparation and assessment, which schools cannot redirect to other tasks. This right derives from the STPCD itself and is enforceable through an employment tribunal under ERA 1996.
- No midday supervision: No teacher can be required to undertake lunchtime supervision as part of their contractual duties (STPCD paragraph 52.2).
- No administrative overload: The STPCD prohibits schools from routinely requiring teachers to perform purely administrative or clerical tasks that do not require professional expertise (Annex 5 of the Document provides a detailed list).
- Access to training: All teachers are entitled to access advice, training and development opportunities appropriate to their professional needs, including those identified through appraisal.
- Union representation and collective consultation: Under TULRCA 1992, recognised teaching unions have rights to be informed and consulted on pay policy, redundancy, and structural change. Teachers have the right to be accompanied by a union representative in formal disciplinary or grievance hearings under ERA 1999.
- Work-life balance: Governing bodies and headteachers must have regard to the need for teachers to achieve a satisfactory balance between professional and personal life, and must adhere to the working limits set by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/1833).
Interactive Calculator Use our STPCD School Teachers Pay & Rights Calculator to estimate your pay band, annual take-home, redundancy entitlement, and pension contribution under the 2025–2026 STPCD.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a qualified teacher at M3. Can my school refuse to progress me to M4? Yes — pay progression under the STPCD is performance-related, not automatic. Governing bodies must assess performance against objectives and, where a teacher is performing effectively, pay progression is expected. If your school refuses to progress you without clear justification, you have the right to raise a grievance under your school's pay grievance procedure, which must comply with the ACAS Code of Practice.
Does the STPCD apply to my academy school? Currently, academies are not legally required to follow the STPCD. However, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill — expected to pass and come into force in 2026 — will make STPCD compliance statutory for all academy schools in England. Many academies already voluntarily apply STPCD pay ranges. Check your contract or ask your union representative.
What is the difference between the Main Pay Range and the Upper Pay Range? The Main Pay Range (£32,916–£45,352 outside London) applies to the majority of qualified classroom teachers and is accessed through annual pay reviews and performance progression along six advisory points. The Upper Pay Range (£47,472–£51,048 outside London) is a separate range for highly experienced teachers who apply and demonstrate substantial and sustained high performance. Progression to UPR is by application — it is not automatic after reaching the MPR maximum.
Can I be required to cover for an absent colleague during my free periods? The STPCD provides that teachers should only be required to provide cover "rarely, and only in circumstances that are not foreseeable." Routine or predictable cover arrangements should be staffed by dedicated cover supervisors or supply teachers, not by classroom teachers during their non-contact time.
Am I entitled to enhanced redundancy pay if my school makes me redundant? Your minimum entitlement is the ERA 1996 statutory formula, capped at £700 per week (as of 2026). Many maintained schools apply the Burgundy Book, which calculates redundancy on actual weekly pay rather than the statutory cap, resulting in a higher payment. Check your contract and consult your union representative to understand which regime applies.
How much will I receive in pension contributions over my career? The TPS employer contribution of 28.68% is exceptionally generous compared with most private sector schemes. Under the 1/57th career average accrual rate, a teacher on a £40,000 salary would build up approximately £702 of annual pension entitlement per year of service. After 30 years, that amounts to roughly £21,000 per year in retirement (before any inflation revaluation). Use our interactive calculator for a personalised estimate.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult your union representative or a qualified employment solicitor.
