Why are Scottish teachers paid so much more than English teachers?

[CeciliaMars]

I've learnt that Scottish teachers are on over £50k after 6 years of teaching (equivalent of our M6). They can then go up to £62k on their version of UPS after a further 6 years. Why on earth aren't English teachers paid a similar amount? I have been teaching for nearly 19 years, and most schools won't pay me more than M6 if I move school, so £43,600. The discrepancy is huge! Does anyone know why the difference is so huge? I'm not saying that Scottish teachers don't deserve it - I'm saying English teachers do too!

Surely because they held out for more money when on strike? This was huge news last year; before that pay was very similar. They did a much better job of negotiating than we did in England.

They were negotiating with a different government!

I know - I'm Scottish teaching in England. It's obviously over-simplified but they were much more successful in their negotiations with their government than the English unions were negotiating with the UK government. That is where the discrepancy arose.

Because of the Tories being in charge of English teacher pay.

I am a Scottish teacher with 25 year experience. I work full time and don't earn over £50k. We did strike and we got a decent deal and it's more than teaching staff in England but not quite what the press are suggesting .
It's also worth noting our tax system is different and we pay more tax than teachers in England.

There are also more bursaries available in England than Scotland for teacher trainees, so many of the people on my course in England are from Scotland (or studied in Scotland and would have liked to stay there) as they wouldn't be able to afford to train otherwise.

Top of the pay scale for an unpromoted Scottish classroom teacher in a state school, 5+ full years of experience is over quite definitely over £50k as of this August. £50589. Yes tax is higher than England on the top £7k of that. Around £1500 more per year I think than if you were able to earn that as a classroom teacher in England. Except you can't outside London.

M6, top of the English scale without jumping through extra hoops is £43607 after 6 years. And getting onto the UPS (up to 49084) these days is not guaranteed or easy even after long service.

https://www.eis.org.uk/pay-and-conditions-of-service/salary-scales

Unless you are not full time or not in a state school check your pay slip!

The flip side of this is that there are very few permanent posts now in Scotland, so teachers are stuck in an endless cycle of supply and fixed term contracts (if they are lucky) after passing probation year. So getting to the top of that pay scale is not so easy as it used to be, and England might seem like a good option as at least they offer permanent jobs.

Thanks for all the replies, it's very interesting.
Where I live, it costs upwards of £300k for a 1-bed flat, and at least £450k for a 2-bed house. I know of a pair of married teachers, both in UPS, who can't afford a second child due to mortgages and childcare.

When I tried to move jobs, no-one would pay me more than M6, despite me being UPS3 in my previous role before having kids (so £43k). So if I were single and trying to buy somewhere now as an experienced teacher, I wouldn't even be able to afford a 1-bed flat.

I feel like English teachers are long overdue a pay lift to similar levels that Scottish teachers are on. Here's hoping!