This page brings together all the information you will need in relation to school teachers’ pay in 2026/27, 27/28 and 28/29. The LGA provides the secretariat for NEOST (National Employers Organisation for School Teachers).
Read the NEOST written evidence to the STRB on the Governments 2026 remit for teachers pay and conditions.
Headline recommendation
The ministerial statement was published on 1 July 2026, confirming that the Government has accepted the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB’s) 36th Report pay recommendations for the 2026/27, 2027/28 teacher pay award with an indicative increase for 2028/29. The headline multiyear pay recommendations are:
- from 1 September 2026 a 3.5 per cent increase will be applied to all pay and allowance ranges and advisory points, except for the minimum of the unqualified teacher range (rest of England) where a five per cent increase will be applied
- from 1 September 2027 a three per cent increase will be applied to all pay and allowance ranges and advisory points
- the STRB also recommended an indicative increase of three per cent to all teachers pay ranges and allowances for 2028/29.
Our understanding of the funding for 2026/27 and 2027/28 is:
- 0.8 per cent of the pay award has been estimated by DfE as affordable for schools at a national level based on existing budgets (0.7 per cent in 2027)
- one per cent will need to be found through further efficiencies (the same is required of school employers for 2027).
- 1.7 per cent will then be provided through additional DfE funding (1.2 per cent in 2027).
Government consultation on draft School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2026
In addition to the relevant pay uplifts detailed above, there are also proposed changes to reflect the new non-consolidated award recognition scheme, a simplification of some aspects of the safeguarding section drafting (and a new FAQ section), a clarification around UPR progression, clarification around the flexible use of inset days and additional protections for leaders’ working hours. However, the Government has decided to reject the STRB’s recommendations to reduce the current salary safeguarding (pay protection) period within the current STPCD 2025.
We have included a track changed and clean copy of the draft STPCD 2026.
The Government has invited NEOST to comment on the proposed changes and is particularly keen to hear your views on the draft new wording within the draft STPCD 2026. Therefore we will invite local authorities and academy trusts school employers shortly to complete a survey to gather employer views and any suggested improvements to inform NEOST’s response back to Government in September.
Given the consultation will run into September and the necessity for the Department for Education to carefully consider and reflect responses received, along with the final legislative process, the final STCPD for 2026 will not be in force by 1 September. We will keep you informed of expected dates as we know them.
National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST) is the statutory recognised national employer representative body for schoolteachers. The LGA provides the Secretariat to NEOST, which represents education authorities and other employers of schoolteachers in maintained schools in England and Wales.