Mature entrants to teaching could be in for a shock if they think their previous experience will automatically be rewarded with extra salary points. Those years as captains of industry, information technology consultants and Brownie leaders will count for nothing if your governing body is bent on keeping pay low, says Val Shields of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

“Governors can be very blinkered about the value of teachers,” she says. “They tend to have a fixed salary in mind and stick to it. A lot are crafty and say they will look at the salary again once the teacher has started work.”

Mrs Shields, a national officer for the union, adds: “Schools want quality, but they’re not prepared to pay for it. Mature people should get recognition for what they bring to teaching, but it’s rare for anyone to be appointed on point six (of the pay spine) - point three is far more common.” She fields many calls from mature entrants fighting to get the salaries they deserve.

Extra salary points are totally at the employer’s discretion, so unless a school is desperate for your skills, or your uncle is the chair of governors, you’re likely to be paid the same as a 22-year-old who is fresh out of college.

To qualify for extra money, your experience must be “of value to the performance of a classroom teacher’s duties”, but practice varies enormously from school to school. One mature entrant who had spent five years in education personnel got no extras, even though she’d spent much of her time advising her new head on sticky legal and staffing issues. Thanks, boss!

By contrast, Dave Wingrove, who had worked for 20 years as a management and IT executive, started on point seven when he began teaching GCSE science and A-level physics at Ridgeway school, near Swindon.

“I was lucky,” he says. “I didn’t even have to negotiate. I think it partly depends on whether you’re offering a shortage subject.”

He thinks teachers must be prepared to bargain for a fair deal at interview. “They must stand their ground and say:‘If you don’t meet my needs, I’ll go elsewhere.’ In shortage subjects, the governors won’t have the luxury of choosing between a cheap 22-year-old and a mature person.”

Elaine Goswell, principal officer for salaries and pensions at the NASUWT, the second biggest teachers’ union, recommends that you agree a salary at the interview.

“If the employer is prepared to offer you the job, that is the moment to agree on pay,” she says.

In her experience, those who wait until after they’ve accepted the job to negotiate their salaries lose out. The Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, introduced in 1987, is far less generous to mature entrants than the old Burnham pay scale, she says.

Under the older regulations, motherhood was recognised as relevant experience for teaching, and mature entrants would be rewarded by an extra point for every three years of previous “unremunerated activity” such as looking after their own children.

The good news is that some schools are still prepared to be more flexible over pay.

“We give extra points for experience anywhere where people have learned useful skills,” says Rosemary Potter, principal of Djanogly City Technology College in Nottingham. “We believe this helps to make better teachers and a more rounded workforce.”

At Djanogly, one teacher got extra increments for working in publishing, while a former retail manager on the graduate teacher programme got extra points on the unqualified scale.

Independent schools can offer mature teachers better pay, according to Michael Sant, director of the Independent Schools’ Bursars’ Association.

“Independent schools can respond to market forces,” he says. “If they need a maths or physics teacher, they can pay what it takes to get one. At state schools, it’s a case of accepting the salary if you want the job.”

And he should know. His wife got nothing extra for 12 years’ commercial experience or for bringing up their children when she took up her first post teaching English at a secondary school. The downside of making extra increments compulsory is that mature entrants are then more likely to be passed over for cheaper, younger NQTs.

Mature students in Scotland recently celebrated a change to the Scottish pay scale that ensured them an extra point for every five years of previous experience, but some teachers have already discovered the sting in the tail.

“As a recent mature entrant, I wish the salary scale were the same as before - then I might have a chance of getting a permanent post,” says Anne Wadwell, a Scottish teacher who has been forced into supply work. “Unless they have shortage subject, mature people are too expensive.”

Val Shields of the ATL feels that it shouldn’t always come down to money; the quality of the teacher should count for a lot more.

“Teachers want to be rewarded and recognised for what they do. It’s surprising that experienced people are still prepared to come into the profession as many of them will only be earning half their former salaries,” she says.

It’s your move

Three tips on negotiating your salary.

* Make sure you are in a strong bargaining position: offer a shortage subject or have other promising interviews lined up.

* Raise the subject of salary at interview - the best moment is when you are asked if you will accept the job if it is offered.

* Be polite but firm - and remember that you’re worth it!