To ask how much a head of department earns?

[Weallknowfrogsgo]

In a school just in case that wasn’t clear.

dm’s friends daughter just got a role as a head of department in Greater London. Fantastic.

Had one of those convos with dm, you know the kind when the relationship is fractious and toxic and every other comment is a dig lamenting how successful X was v me. I was going to go into teaching but changed my mind. Basis of the dig

i think I’m doing alright, mid 30s earning mid 50s. Out of idle curiosity how much does a head of department earn, google told me about 45k but DM was insistent she was earning around 100k because ‘that’s what head of department earn’

If Heads of Department earn 100K then I am being very underpaid.....

OP - you say they've been teaching for 5 years, so let's assume they're on Point 5 of the main pay scale. In Outer London (as you said greater London), this is currently £42,654. This will go up to 46k next year if they go to the next step on the pay-scale, and could eventually go up to 51k after another 4 years.

This is their base salary, they will then get an additional allowance for being head of department. This will vary depending on the subject and size of secondary school and schools can basically choose themselves what to offer so there's no real way to know and it varies hugely. (e.g. I'm currently paid 11k for MFL, but that's on the higher end for that subject, most would probably be around 9k).

On average, if it's English/Maths/Science, it will probably be around 11k-13k extra (possibly 9k if it's a smaller school and/or doesn't have a sixth form).

If it's MFL/history/geography/business/other subjects that most students tend to choose, it's probably between 7-9k but possibly 11k if a large school. For other smaller subjects, especially those that are only taught at KS4 or Ks5, it could be could be as little as 4k in some cases.

Glad you got a satisfying answer OP😁 - but the question is, what are you going to do about your toxic DM?

She's talking nonsense😂

I am a Head of Science in a secondary school.
Myself and heads of Maths/English are paid on the leadership scale.

I am near the top of my 'section' of the scale and earn 58k.

Heads of smaller subjects get less.

I can confirm as head of Welsh first langage- £63k + additional salary for around £5-7k for external exam boardwork as senior moderator / examiner for a gcse and a level unit.

Think my friend earns about £60k as head of dept in large London secondary