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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Job opportunity

5 replies

Explor78 · 23/05/2024 21:53

Hey everyone,

So, I'm an A-level teacher, and I got offered a job at a school for £42.1k FTE for a 0.6 workload. Is that a good salary? I'll be working 3 days a week, and I'm assuming it'll be pretty hectic. The school is about an hour drive away, one way.

It's a 0.6 contract, by the way.

What do you guys think?TIA

OP posts:
Fifthtimelucky · 23/05/2024 22:52

It depends on where you are and how experienced you are.

The amount you are quoting is slightly more than the top of the main scale for teachers outside the "fringe" area (certain parts of the South East) and London.

It's slightly less than the top of the main scale in the fringe area and a lot less than the same point of the scales for inner and outer London.

If you are based outside London/the fringe area and are in your first few years of teaching, it's a great salary.

If you have 20 years of experience and are based in inner London it's a very poor one!

Explor78 · 24/05/2024 07:28

Hey, thanks for the reply.

So, I'm in Berkshire, UK.

I'm not sure if the salary is fair. Someone said it's not that high! I've been teaching for 6 years now and I'm a specialist. But I'm not sure if that justifies the role because I have to co-tutor and do some extracurricular stuff too and 50 minutes of travel time each way.

Do you think there's room for negotiation? It's an independent sector school so they have their own pay scale bands.

OP posts:
ThanksItHasPockets · 24/05/2024 11:05

Are you a qualified teacher? Are you currently being paid on the STPC scales? Is the independent school in the TPS and if not how good is the pension that they offer? Are there any other elements of the remuneration package to consider, eg discounts on fees for your dependents, staff lunch, healthcare etc?

Fifthtimelucky · 25/05/2024 12:20

Some parts of Berkshire (the districts of Bracknell Forest, Slough and Windsor, and Maidenhead) are in the "fringe area". The rest aren't.

So in a maintained school after 6 years (assuming that you hadn't yet been assessed as meeting the Threshold standards) you would be on £42,689 (fringe) or £41,334 (rest of England). NB those figures are the current ones. They will go up in September, but it's not clear by how much yet.

Your school may be paying slightly above the STPCD rates, on the grounds that it wants to attract good teachers, or may be paying slightly less, on the grounds that it can still attract good staff because the working conditions are better/less stressful.

But as @ThanksItHasPockets has said, you need to consider the salary in the context of the other conditions/perks: pension, opportunities for progression and discounts on fees. But also things like class sizes, pupil behaviour and working environment more generally.

The school might be willing to negotiate, but they will need to fit you somewhere into their pay structure. I imagine it will depend on how keen they are to have you and how easy they find it to recruit and retain their teachers more generally.

I wouldn't expect them to take extra-curricular activities into account. I imagine the vast majority of teachers in independent schools are expected to do some extra-curricula activities. And the travel time is your problem not theirs (and presumably one that you were aware of, and happy with, when you applied for the job).

lanthanum · 25/05/2024 17:58

Is it just 0.6, or specified as three days a week? Do check.

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