Teacher — Primary, Secondary and Further Education, UK Schools

Local authority schools, academy trusts, independent schools and further education colleges across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recruit teachers year round, with hiring concentrated before the September start and again for January and Easter appointments. Shortage subjects — maths, physics, chemistry and computing — are recruited hardest.

What the work involves

Planning and teaching to the relevant curriculum, assessing and tracking progress, managing behaviour, preparing pupils for GCSEs, A levels, National Qualifications or their equivalents, reporting to parents, and contributing to the wider life of the school. Teachers on the statutory document are available for 195 days, of which 190 involve teaching.

Requirements

• England: qualified teacher status for local authority maintained schools; academies and free schools set their own requirements
• Scotland: registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland — QTS on its own is not accepted
• Northern Ireland: registration with the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland, which is a legal condition of employment in grant-aided schools
• An enhanced DBS check with barred list, or the equivalent PVG scheme membership in Scotland
• Subject knowledge to degree level for most secondary posts
• Completion of statutory induction — two years in England, and the induction route differs in each nation

What it pays

• England, 2026/27: the main pay range runs £34,069 to £46,940 outside London and £41,729 to £54,131 in inner London
• Scotland: the main grade scale runs £43,383 to £54,453, with probationers on £36,159
• Northern Ireland: the main scale runs £32,916 to £43,830, with no M1 point at all

Before you apply

Check which nation the post is in before you check anything else. The qualification, the regulator, the pay scale and the induction route all change at the border, and an English qualification does not automatically let you teach in Scotland.

Note: pay, registration requirements and conditions are set by each nation's statutory arrangements and by individual employers — not by JobGader. Confirm the details on the employer's own advertisement before applying.