Fringe area teacher pay after tax 2026/27 | Money Worked Out
Schools in the fringe area around London pay on their own scale, set a little above the rest of England. The table uses the fringe scale in force from 1 September 2025, since the 2026/27 scale had not been published when this page was checked. An M1 teacher here earns £34,398 and keeps £2,187.63 a month.
| Point | Salary | Pension | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main pay range | ||||
| M1 | £34,398 | £2,545.45 | £26,251.60 | £2,187.63 |
| M2 | £36,373 | £3,237.20 | £27,120.20 | £2,260.02 |
| M3 | £38,627 | £3,437.80 | £28,582.60 | £2,381.88 |
| M4 | £41,075 | £3,655.68 | £30,170.86 | £2,514.24 |
| M5 | £43,545 | £3,875.51 | £31,773.39 | £2,647.78 |
| M6 | £46,839 | £4,168.67 | £33,910.54 | £2,825.88 |
| Upper pay range | ||||
| U1 | £48,913 | £4,842.39 | £34,864.85 | £2,905.40 |
| U2 | £50,668 | £5,016.13 | £36,013.34 | £3,001.11 |
| U3 | £52,490 | £5,196.51 | £37,290.19 | £3,107.52 |
| Unqualified range | ||||
| UQ1 | £24,066 | £1,780.88 | £19,424.22 | £1,618.69 |
| UQ6 | £36,718 | £3,267.90 | £27,344.04 | £2,278.67 |
| Leadership range | ||||
| L_max | £145,218 | £17,426.16 | £79,167.55 | £6,597.30 |
| L_min | £53,198 | £5,266.60 | £37,786.36 | £3,148.86 |
Pay scale: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a6260312ee8a5f0806bb5/School_teachers__pay_and_conditions_document_2025_and_guidance_on_school_teachers__pay_and_conditions.pdf, effective 1 September 2025
Fringe main pay range
On the fringe scale the main pay range runs from £34,398 at M1 to £46,839 at M6. Only those two ends are set by the pay document. M2 to M5 are Department for Education advisory figures.
The fringe uplift is enough to change the pension picture early. M1 is in the lowest Teachers' Pension tier, but M2 at £36,373 is already over its upper edge, so the rate rises on the whole M2 salary and the deduction goes from £2,545.45 to £3,237.20. Take-home moves only from £26,251.60 to £27,120.20 across that step. Outside the fringe, the same tier change comes one point later, at M3.
From M2 to M6 the tier stays the same, so each later step keeps a steadier share of the raise. A fringe teacher at M6 takes home £33,910.54 a year, or £2,825.88 a month.
Upper range, leadership and unqualified pay on the fringe
The fringe upper pay range goes from £48,913 to £52,490. U1 already sits in the tier above M6, so its pension deduction is £4,842.39. None of the upper range reaches higher rate income tax once the pension is taken off before tax. At U3 a fringe teacher keeps £37,290.19 a year.
Unqualified teachers on the fringe scale earn £24,066 at the minimum and £36,718 at the maximum. The leadership range runs from £53,198, still taxed only at the basic rate, to £145,218, where take-home is £79,167.55 and the personal allowance has gone entirely.
The figures treat the scale from 1 September 2025 as the pay for the whole 2026/27 tax year. For comparison, the rest of England scale sits below the fringe, and the outer London scale sits above it. Part-time pay can be worked out in the teacher pay calculator.
Questions
Which teachers are paid on the fringe scale?
Teachers in schools in the fringe area, which the pay document defines as a list of districts. It covers the whole of Surrey and named districts in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and West Sussex.
Why is the fringe table not the 2026/27 scale?
The 2026/27 England pay document had not been published when this page was checked, so the table shows the fringe scale in force from 1 September 2025.
What does a fringe teacher on M1 take home?
On the fringe scale an M1 teacher earns £34,398 and takes home £26,251.60 a year after income tax, National Insurance and the Teachers' Pension.