On Sunday the education secretary Jenny Gilruth told the SNP conference in Aberdeen that Scottish teachers are “the best paid in the UK”.
She made the claim just after announcing plans for a new Centre of Teaching Excellence to make Scotland “a world-leader in new approaches to learning and teaching”.
Salary for teachers in Scotland from January 2024
Following strike action over pay that got under way at the end of last year, in March Scottish teachers secured a pay deal worth 14.6 per cent over 28 months.
Teachers received a 7 per cent pay rise backdated to April 2022, a further 5 per cent in April 2023 and 2 per cent in January.
For school leaders earning above £80,000, the pay rise was capped at £11,200.
The rise means graduates from teacher education courses in Scotland, who are guaranteed a one-year post in a school to carry out their probation, currently earn £31,584. In January that starting salary will rise to £32,217.
Once they are fully qualified, teachers progress up the teacher main grade scale every year. Currently teachers at the top of the scale earn £47,565 in Scotland. That will rise to £48,516 in January.
The first promoted post for teachers wishing to climb the career ladder is often that of principal teacher - or faculty head.
According to last year’s teacher census, there were almost 1,800 principal teachers working in primary schools and more than 5,300 working in secondary schools.
The table below shows their salaries now and also from January.
However, not all school leaders benefited equally from the pay deal agreed in March.
Secondary headteachers’ organisation School Leaders Scotland said a “significant minority” of its members were in the bracket that would be affected by the £80,000 cap and these school leaders felt “devalued”.
A similar cap had been applied to the 2021-22 pay deal, it pointed out.
How do Scottish teacher wages compare to other parts of the UK?
While Scottish teacher starting salaries will hit £32,217 in January - in England, outside of London, new teachers get paid £30,000 a year. In Wales the starting salary for teachers is £30,742.
At the top of the scale Scottish teachers also earn more - £48,516 from January, compared with £41,333 at the top of the main scale in England (outside London) and £42,466 in Wales.
However, while headteachers in England (outside London) can earn up to just over £130,000 a year, in Scotland the most a headteacher will be able to earn, from January, is £110,808.