Pay progression for new teachers in England and Wales keeps pace with other graduates after three years, but lags behind them after five, according to figures published this month.
The School Teachers’ Review Body’s 2017 report says that after three years, the pay of a teacher in England and Wales will have risen by 26 per cent on average, or 29 per cent including allowances.
By comparison, the average salary (excluding bonuses) for all graduates across the UK with three years’ tenure is also 29 per cent higher than the average starting rate.
Over the next two years, a gap opens up between teachers and all graduates. After five years, a teacher in England and Wales will typically have achieved 48 per cent pay progression (52 per cent including allowances), compared with an average of 60 per cent for other graduates.
In Scotland, where teachers move up one point of a pay scale each year, a teacher can expect to see a bigger rise than their colleagues in England and Wales after their first three years. But after five years they also lag behind the UK graduate average.
