jobfacts

Secondary education teaching professionals

SOC 2020 2313

Secondary (and middle school deemed secondary), and sixth form education teaching professionals plan, organise and provide instruction in one or more subjects, including physical education and diversionary activities, within a prescribed curriculum.

Also calledSecondary school teacherHigh school teacherSixth form teacherPE teacherPhysical education teacherInstructorand 126 more titles
Typical full-time pay£47,6002025 Provisional
People in the job504,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month4,900↓ 24%on last year · 33rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time secondary education teaching professionals earn between £39,100 and £54,000 a year.

What full-time secondary education teaching professionals earn, 2025
£47,600 typical£32,100lowest 10%£39,10025%£54,00075%£62,400top 10%
Middle half (£39,100–£54,000)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£32,100
Lowest 20% earn less than£37,100
25%£39,100
Median£47,600
75%£54,000
Top 20% earn more than£56,200
Top 10% earn more than£62,400
Typical pay by regionUK median £47,600
London£51,000
Scotland£49,900
Wales£48,900
North East£47,500
West Midlands£47,100
North West£46,300
East Midlands£45,800
East of England£45,800
South East£45,600
South West£45,200
Yorkshire and The Humber£43,600
Show as table
UK median, £47,600
London£51,000
Scotland£49,900
Wales£48,900
North East£47,500
West Midlands£47,100
North West£46,300
East Midlands£45,800
East of England£45,800
South East£45,600
South West£45,200
Yorkshire and The Humber£43,600
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £42,800
  • 2024 £45,400
  • 2025 Provisional£47,600
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 4,900 jobs for secondary education teaching professionals are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (4 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20262,845
Jul 20263,463
Jun 2026Not published
May 20266,313
Apr 20266,169
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20264,481
Jan 20265,180
Dec 20252,478
Nov 20254,886
Oct 20256,651
Sept 20256,651
Aug 20253,335
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 202512,038
Apr 20257,775
Mar 20257,975
Feb 20257,836
Jan 20257,108
Dec 20245,014
Nov 20245,223
Oct 20245,546
Sept 20245,903
Aug 20243,992
Jul 20245,977
Jun 20248,808
May 202410,989
Apr 20249,272
Mar 20249,262
Feb 20248,142
Jan 20248,985
Dec 20237,655
Nov 20237,182
Oct 20235,380
Sept 20234,757
Aug 20234,423
Jul 20234,815
Jun 20238,326
May 20239,978
Apr 20237,906
Mar 202310,733
Feb 20238,966
Jan 20239,583
Dec 20226,725
Nov 20229,099
Oct 20227,772
Sept 20226,700
Aug 20223,894
Jul 20225,932
Jun 20228,603
May 202210,881
Apr 20228,302
Mar 20229,961
Feb 20227,082
Jan 20227,872
Dec 20214,874
Nov 20215,583
Oct 20214,849
Sept 20214,213
Aug 20212,795
Jul 20214,580
Jun 20215,865
May 20218,596
Apr 20216,635
Mar 20216,882
Feb 20215,735
Jan 20215,420
Dec 20204,766
Nov 20205,089
Oct 20205,629
Sept 20204,997
Aug 20203,042
Jul 20204,355
Jun 20206,214
May 20208,249
Apr 20208,875
Mar 202010,309
Feb 20208,948
Jan 20208,574
Dec 20194,984
Nov 20196,813
Oct 20196,797
Sept 20195,803
Aug 20194,507
Jul 20197,692
Jun 201912,518
May 201913,748
Apr 20197,182
Mar 20199,502
Feb 20197,776
Jan 20198,091
Dec 20184,490
Nov 20187,466
Oct 20186,759
Sept 20185,669
Aug 20183,296
Jul 20184,962
Jun 20188,157
May 201810,349
Apr 20188,598
Mar 201810,756
Feb 20188,562
Jan 201810,449
Dec 20174,821
Nov 20177,066
Oct 20176,355
Sept 20175,785
Aug 20173,164
Jul 20174,230
Jun 20178,964
May 201710,005
Apr 20178,156
Mar 20179,773
Feb 20178,548
Jan 20179,345
Is there a shortage of secondary education teaching professionals?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in online job advert density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
32%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London2,648
Birmingham284
Manchester217
Buckinghamshire176
Bristol, City of158
Leeds137
Sheffield133
West Northamptonshire128
Bradford125
Liverpool120
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where secondary education teaching professionals are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 193 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, Jamaica, Turkey, ranking it 77th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of secondary education teaching professionals
4.7%!
29%
26%
25%
12%
2.5%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–244.7% (small sample)
25–3429%
35–4426%
45–5425%
55–6412%
65+2.5% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent95%
Higher education below degree2%
A levels or equivalent2.3%
GCSEs or equivalent!0.4%
Other qualifications!0.3%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent95%
Higher education below degree2%
A levels or equivalent2.3%
GCSEs or equivalent0.4% (small sample)
Other qualifications0.3% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: general secondary education (86%), other education nec (3.1%), primary education (2.9%), technical and vocational secondary education (1.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
95%
as their highest qualification
Registration
Department for Education
required to practise: Department for Education
Apprenticeships
2
from level 6, including degree apprenticeships
Apprenticeships take
9 months to 3½ years
typically

Routes in

Secondary school teacher

You can get into this job through:

University

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
  • 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.

You do not always need to have a degree in the subject you'd like to teach. Your teacher training organisation will decide whether you have the required skills and knowledge to teach the subject.

If your training organisation thinks you need to improve your subject knowledge, they will ask you to do a subject knowledge enhancement course.

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.

The undergraduate option takes up to 4 years to complete. The postgraduate route takes around 1 year, 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
  • a degree for a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

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

Volunteering

You might find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people.

You could volunteer at a school, do youth work 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 discover more about how to become a secondary 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 secondary school teacher. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

PE teacher

You can get into this job through:

University

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
  • GCSE science at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) for primary school teaching
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
More about this route
Undergraduate degree

You can do a sport and fitness, physical education or sports coaching degree with qualified teacher status (QTS).

Postgraduate certificate

You can complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), if you have a first degree without QTS. This can be done at university or on a school-based training programme.

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.

The undergraduate option takes up to 4 years to complete. The postgraduate route takes around 1 year, with both leading to qualified teacher status (QTS).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including 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

If you're a PE or sports graduate, you may be able to get into teaching by working as a sports coach in a school or college, then move onto a teacher training programme.

You'll need coaching qualifications in your specialist sport to do this.

Volunteering

You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people though this is not essential. You can do this through paid work or by volunteering at a school, doing youth work or coaching at a sports club.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

A driving licence would be useful, as you may be expected to drive a minibus to take school teams to sporting fixtures and competitions.

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 find out more about how to become a 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 pe teacher. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job
Level 6About 9 months

Teacher

You gain
A BA or BSc degree that aligns to the occupational standard and leads to the award of QTS.
Registration
Department for Education
Employers may ask for
Apprentices must meet the entry requirements for initial teacher training (ITT) as set out by the Department for Education (DfE): Initial teacher training…
Details on Skills England
Level 6About 3½ yearsDegree

Teacher

You gain
A BA or BSc degree that aligns to the occupational standard and leads to the award of QTS.
Registration
Department for Education
Employers may ask for
Apprentices must meet the entry requirements for initial teacher training (ITT) as set out by the Department for Education (DfE): Initial teacher training…
Details on Skills England

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

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • prepares and delivers courses and lessons in accordance with curriculum requirements and teaches one or more 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
  • supervises any practical work and maintains classroom discipline
  • 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
  • compile course material
  • demonstrate when teaching
  • develop course outline
  • give constructive feedback
  • guarantee students' safety
  • liaise with educational staff
  • liaise with educational support staff
  • maintain students' discipline

Knowledge

  • curriculum objectives
  • learning difficulties
  • post-secondary school procedures
  • acoustics
  • acting techniques
  • adolescent socialisation behaviour
  • applied zoology
  • art history

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for teaching and other educational professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes secondary 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.