2026 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document: Pay Policy Update
The Government has now published the final School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2026, which is valid from 1st September 2026.
Following publication of the final STPCD, HR Connect has produced an updated 2026 Pay Policy to reflect the new provisions. The policy is currently being consulted on with the recognised teaching and support staff trade unions.
Once the consultation period has concluded, we will consider any responses received and make any necessary amendments before publishing the final version.
We expect the HR Connect 2026 Pay Policy to be available to customers on the HR Connect portal by the week ending 20th November 2026.
We will let customers know as soon as the new policy is available.
The Key changes in the 2026 STPCD are as follows:
Pay awards
- a 3.5% increase from 1st September 2026 to all statutory pay and allowance ranges and advisory pay points;
- an exception for the minimum of the unqualified teacher pay range outside London, which increases by 5% from 1st September 2026;
TLR 1 and 2 payments
- A part-time teacher undertaking the full TLR responsibilities should receive the full TLR payment.
- A part-time teacher undertaking only part of the responsibilities should receive the corresponding proportion of the TLR.
- A full-time teacher will receive only part of a TLR where the responsibilities are shared.
- The agreed duties and proportion of the payment should be recorded in writing.
- TLR3 payments remain outside the normal pro-rata principle.
This arrangement was optional from September 2025 but is now mandatory from September 2026.
TLR and SEN allowance values
- The values of TLR and SEN allowances have changed from 1st September 2026 and these should be reflected in your pay policy
Upper Pay range progression
- For teachers on the Upper Pay Range, pay progression must now be determined at least once every two years. In practice this means that schools need to decide if progression will be annually or biannually (every 2 years) and ensure this is reflected in the pay policy. Regardless of the frequency of progression, the appraisal process should still take place annually.
Introduction of Non-consolidated recognition awards
- From 1st September 2026, schools may make modest, non-consolidated payments to teachers and leaders to recognise an exceptional contribution or achievement.
- These awards:
- must relate to a genuine additional contribution;
- must not replace normal pay progression;
- must not be used instead of a TLR;
- should be governed by clear, published criteria in the pay policy; and
- require robust governing-body oversight.
- The payment is non-consolidated and therefore it does not permanently increase the teacher’s salary.
Inset Days
The five non-teaching days may now be delivered as five days or the equivalent of five days. This allows schools to use arrangements such as twilight sessions or half days,
However:
- the total must not exceed the equivalent of five full days;
- total directed time must remain within statutory limits;
- part-time teachers’ entitlements must be respected;
- reasonable notice should be given;
- workload and work-life balance must be considered; and
- schools are expected to consult affected teachers and their recognised trade unions before changing the arrangements.
- This does not increase the overall 1,265 directed-hours limit.
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