Outer London teacher take-home 2026/27 | Money Worked Out
Outer London schools pay on a separate scale that sits between the fringe and inner London rates. This page shows the outer London scale in force from 1 September 2025, because the 2026/27 scale had not been published when it was checked. On M1 an outer London teacher earns £37,870 and takes home £2,340.96 a month.
| Point | Salary | Pension | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main pay range | ||||
| M1 | £37,870 | £3,370.43 | £28,091.46 | £2,340.96 |
| M2 | £39,851 | £3,546.74 | £29,376.73 | £2,448.06 |
| M3 | £41,935 | £3,732.22 | £30,728.82 | £2,560.74 |
| M4 | £44,128 | £3,927.39 | £32,151.65 | £2,679.30 |
| M5 | £46,800 | £4,165.20 | £33,885.24 | £2,823.77 |
| M6 | £50,474 | £4,996.93 | £35,877.38 | £2,989.78 |
| Upper pay range | ||||
| U1 | £52,219 | £5,169.68 | £37,100.28 | £3,091.69 |
| U2 | £54,151 | £5,360.95 | £38,454.22 | £3,204.52 |
| U3 | £56,154 | £5,559.25 | £39,794.77 | £3,316.23 |
| Unqualified range | ||||
| UQ1 | £26,789 | £1,982.39 | £21,223.57 | £1,768.63 |
| UQ6 | £39,450 | £3,511.05 | £29,116.56 | £2,426.38 |
| Leadership range | ||||
| L_max | £147,866 | £17,743.92 | £80,396.22 | £6,699.69 |
| L_min | £55,881 | £5,532.22 | £39,652.65 | £3,304.39 |
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
Which schools use the outer London scale
The pay document defines outer London as fourteen boroughs: Barnet, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest. Several boroughs counted as outer London for other purposes, such as Barking and Dagenham, Ealing and Newham, are in the inner London area for pay purposes.
Outer London main pay range after deductions
The outer London main range starts at £37,870 and ends at £50,474. Even M1 is above the lowest Teachers' Pension tier, so an outer London teacher pays the second tier rate from the first day, a deduction of £3,370.43. Take-home at M1 is £28,091.46 a year.
The rate stays the same from M1 to M5, where take-home reaches £33,885.24. M6 crosses into the next tier, and the new contribution rate applies to the whole salary, so the deduction there is £4,996.93. M6 is also above £50,270, so a thin slice of it pays National Insurance at 2%. Income tax at M6 is still all at the basic rate, and take-home is £35,877.38.
Upper range and leadership in outer London
The outer London upper pay range runs from £52,219 at U1 to £56,154 at U3, all in the same pension tier as M6. U1 and U2 are taxed at the basic rate only, once the pension comes off first. U3 is the first classroom point on this scale with some pay taxed at the higher rate of 40%, and its income tax is £7,666.30. Take-home at U3 is £39,794.77, or £3,316.23 a month.
The leadership range starts at £55,881, which also has a higher rate slice, and rises to £147,866. At the top, take-home is £80,396.22. The unqualified range runs from £26,789 to £39,450, and the minimum sits in the lowest pension tier. The teacher pay calculator covers part-time contracts, and the methodology page explains the calculation.
Questions
What does an outer London teacher on M1 take home?
An outer London teacher on M1 earns £37,870 on the scale in force from 1 September 2025, and keeps £2,340.96 a month after tax, National Insurance and pension.
Is Ealing in outer London for teacher pay?
No. The pay document places Ealing, along with Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Greenwich, Haringey, Merton and Newham, in the inner London area, so schools there use the inner London scale.
When do outer London teachers start paying higher rate tax?
On this scale, at U3. Below that the Teachers' Pension, taken before tax, keeps taxable pay inside the basic rate band, even though M6, U1 and U2 are above the higher rate threshold in salary terms.