Headteachers: Pay
(asked on 17th March 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the percentage median salary increase for secondary school deputy head teachers in England between 1996–97 and 2025–26 in (1) cash terms, and (2) real terms adjusted for inflation.
Median pay is published for classroom teachers, headteachers and ‘other leadership’ teachers. The percentage median salary increase is not published but can be calculated from the published median pay. Deputy heads are grouped into the ‘other leadership’ category, alongside assistant heads. Median pay is not published for deputy heads separately.
Statistics for median teacher pay extending back to 1996/97 are not readily available. The available time series goes back to 2010/11, the first year of the School Workforce Census. The most recent data currently available is for 2024/25 and the 2025/26 pay data will be published in June 2026.
Percentage Median Salary Increase Between 2010/11 and 2024/25 for Headteachers and Deputy Heads in Cash Terms
Deputy Head | Head teachers | ||
Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary |
39.5% | 38.2% | 41.6% | 36.2% |
Percentage Median Salary Increase Between 2010/11 and 2024/25 for Headteachers and Deputy Heads Adjusted for Inflation (indexed to 2024/25)
Deputy Head | Head teachers | ||
Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary |
-6.5% | -7.4% | -5.1% | -8.7% |
We have adjusted for inflation on a financial year basis using the Consumer Price Index from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. To get the median pay figures adjusted for inflation, we have indexed to financial year 2024/25.
Headteacher pay in maintained schools is determined by a calculation set out in the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document. Once the school has been allocated to one of eight headteacher groups, largely based on size of school by pupil numbers, the individual salary range of the headteacher is determined by the governing body within the minimum and maximum of the respective headteacher group range. The salary range of any deputy or assistant headteachers is then determined in the context of the headteachers salary.