jobfacts

Primary education teaching professionals

SOC 2020 2314

Primary (and middle school deemed primary) and education teaching professionals plan, organise and provide instruction to children at all levels up to the age of entry into secondary education.

Also calledPrimary school teacherJunior school teacherMasterMistressTeacherArt teacherand 35 more titles
Typical full-time pay£45,9002025 Provisional
People in the job375,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month4,500↓ 12%on last year · 36th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time primary education teaching professionals earn between £37,800 and £51,700 a year.

What full-time primary education teaching professionals earn, 2025
£45,900 typical£30,700lowest 10%£37,80025%£51,70075%£60,600top 10%
Middle half (£37,800–£51,700)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£30,700
Lowest 20% earn less than£35,600
25%£37,800
Median£45,900
75%£51,700
Top 20% earn more than£54,000
Top 10% earn more than£60,600
Typical pay by regionUK median £45,900
London£51,400
Scotland£49,900
Wales£48,900
North West£45,000
South East£43,700
East of England£43,400
West Midlands£42,300
South West£42,000
Yorkshire and The Humber£41,500
East Midlands£41,500
North EastNot published by ONS–
Show as table
UK median, £45,900
London£51,400
Scotland£49,900
Wales£48,900
North West£45,000
South East£43,700
East of England£43,400
West Midlands£42,300
South West£42,000
Yorkshire and The Humber£41,500
East Midlands£41,500
North EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £40,000
  • 2024 £42,800
  • 2025 Provisional£45,900
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 4,500 jobs for primary education teaching professionals are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20263,386
Jul 20263,999
Jun 20265,572
May 20265,160
Apr 20264,790
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20264,033
Jan 20264,881
Dec 20252,697
Nov 20254,486
Oct 20255,014
Sept 20255,369
Aug 20253,493
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 20257,240
Apr 20255,874
Mar 20255,962
Feb 20255,584
Jan 20255,645
Dec 20243,647
Nov 20244,347
Oct 20244,506
Sept 20244,881
Aug 20243,333
Jul 20244,483
Jun 20245,358
May 20246,532
Apr 20245,974
Mar 20245,376
Feb 20244,941
Jan 20245,608
Dec 20234,285
Nov 20234,987
Oct 20234,289
Sept 20233,955
Aug 20233,304
Jul 20234,102
Jun 20235,939
May 20236,744
Apr 20235,121
Mar 20236,574
Feb 20235,772
Jan 20236,917
Dec 20225,319
Nov 20226,217
Oct 20225,473
Sept 20225,062
Aug 20223,776
Jul 20224,634
Jun 20225,726
May 20226,375
Apr 20225,188
Mar 20226,678
Feb 20225,316
Jan 20225,962
Dec 20214,569
Nov 20215,066
Oct 20214,617
Sept 20214,005
Aug 20212,871
Jul 20214,306
Jun 20214,941
May 20216,116
Apr 20215,109
Mar 20214,965
Feb 20213,218
Jan 20213,708
Dec 20203,477
Nov 20203,998
Oct 20203,983
Sept 20203,234
Aug 20202,085
Jul 20203,041
Jun 20203,691
May 20204,390
Apr 20204,689
Mar 20206,572
Feb 20205,228
Jan 20205,041
Dec 20193,587
Nov 20194,753
Oct 20194,575
Sept 20194,006
Aug 20194,004
Jul 20195,850
Jun 20198,179
May 20198,247
Apr 20194,227
Mar 20195,196
Feb 20194,351
Jan 20194,245
Dec 20182,895
Nov 20184,778
Oct 20184,436
Sept 20183,622
Aug 20182,672
Jul 20183,602
Jun 20184,864
May 20185,031
Apr 20184,494
Mar 20185,271
Feb 20184,609
Jan 20185,567
Dec 20173,082
Nov 20174,465
Oct 20173,836
Sept 20173,801
Aug 20172,499
Jul 20172,862
Jun 20175,768
May 20175,194
Apr 20174,200
Mar 20175,099
Feb 20174,407
Jan 20175,027
Is there a shortage of primary education teaching professionals?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in online job advert density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
26%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London2,402
Manchester249
Birmingham227
Leeds157
Liverpool156
Bristol, City of150
Cornwall129
Buckinghamshire124
Cheshire East123
Somerset123
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where primary education teaching professionals are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 49 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Turkey, France, United States, ranking it 137th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of primary education teaching professionals
4.7%
33%
27%
22%
12%
n/p
n/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–244.7%
25–3433%
35–4427%
45–5422%
55–6412%
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent94%
Higher education below degree3%
A levels or equivalent!0.8%
GCSEs or equivalent!1.2%
Other qualifications!0.5%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent94%
Higher education below degree3%
A levels or equivalent0.8% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent1.2% (small sample)
Other qualifications0.5% (small sample)

Main employers: primary education (95%), general secondary education (1.4%), other education nec (0.6%), temporary employment agency activities (0.3%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
94%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
More about this route
Undergraduate degree

You can do an undergraduate degree that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), for example:

  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA) with QTS
  • Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS
Postgraduate certificate

If you already have a bachelor's degree without qualified teacher status, you can complete a postgraduate qualification like a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) to get QTS. This can be done at university or through a training programme based in a school.

You need QTS to teach in most primary and secondary schools in England but you do not need a PGCE to teach.

Find out more about QTS from Get Into Teaching.

Change careers to teaching

Find out about the support available if you want to change to a career in teaching.

Apprenticeship

You may be able to apply to do an Undergraduate or Postgraduate Teacher Level 6 Apprenticeship to teach children from ages 3 to 7 or 5 to 11.

The undergraduate option takes up to 4 years to complete. The postgraduate route takes around 9 months, with both leading to qualified teacher status (QTS).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths
  • GCSE science at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) for primary school teaching
  • a degree for a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could start as a teaching assistant and do further training like a part-time degree or an undergraduate teaching apprenticeship to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).

Volunteering

You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with children in different age ranges, though this is not essential.

You could volunteer at a school, help at an after school club or work on a holiday scheme.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll usually need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in a state school in England
Career tips

You can attend a Get Into Teaching event before you apply to get advice about teaching, funding and the different training routes available. You can attend events in person and online.

Further information

You can learn more about becoming a primary school teacher from Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for primary school teacher. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • prepares and delivers courses and lessons in accordance with curriculum requirements and teaches a range of subjects
  • prepares, assigns and corrects exercises and examinations to record and evaluate students’ progress
  • prepares students for external examinations and administers and invigilates these examinations
  • maintains records of students’ progress and development
  • teaches simple songs and rhymes, reads stories and organises various activities to promote language, social and physical development
  • undertakes pastoral duties
  • supervises teaching assistants and trainees
  • discusses progress with student, parents and/or other education professionals
  • assists with or plans and develops curriculum and rota of teaching duties

Skills

  • adapt teaching to student's capabilities
  • apply intercultural teaching strategies
  • apply teaching strategies
  • assess students
  • assign homework
  • assist students in their learning
  • assist students with equipment
  • demonstrate when teaching
  • employ pedagogic strategies to facilitate creative engagement
  • encourage students to acknowledge their achievements
  • facilitate teamwork between students
  • give constructive feedback
  • guarantee students' safety
  • implement care programmes for children

Knowledge

  • assessment processes
  • curriculum objectives
  • learning difficulties
  • primary school procedures
  • teamwork principles
  • behavioural disorders
  • children's physical development
  • common children's diseases

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Creating and designing

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for teaching and other educational professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes primary education teaching professionals.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 15%about 268,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.