Model policy for determining teachers’ pay

An editable Word version of the model policy for determining teachers' pay, for headteachers, business leaders and governors in maintained schools, academies and trusts. It is taken from the DfE's Managing teachers' and leaders' pay advice, so you can adapt it for your own setting.

What's inside

• The model policy for determining teachers' pay, ready to edit

Source and edition

• The text is Annex B, the model pay policy, of the DfE's Managing teachers' and leaders' pay advice dated July 2024 and valid from September 2024. Check GOV.UK for any later edition before adopting it.
• Read it with the School teachers' pay and conditions document 2026, valid from 1 September 2026. Its paragraph 2.1 requires the relevant body to adopt a policy setting out how it determines teachers' pay and the date by which it determines the annual pay review.
• From 2024/25 the advice removed the requirement for appraisal to lead to performance-related pay. The model gives wording for schools that drop it and for schools that keep it.

Who it is for and when to use it

For the headteacher, the business leader and the governors or pay committee who adopt the policy. The advice says to review pay policies every year. The model sets the annual pay review with effect from 1 September and no later than 31 October, so agree the reviewed policy before the autumn pay decisions.

What the board decides before adopting it

• Who makes pay decisions: the full board, a pay committee or an individual
• Whether pay progression stays linked to performance
• Upper pay range applications: deadlines, the period of evidence, who assesses them and how quickly applicants hear
• Your definitions of "highly competent", "substantial" and "sustained"
• How often the board monitors the policy's impact, including progression across groups of teachers for equalities

Format: editable Microsoft Word template, 7 pages. Time saved: 1 hour.

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