Special and additional needs education teaching professionals: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time special and additional needs education teaching professionals in the UK earned a median £47,432 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 21% more than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
That ranks 75th of 382 occupations on this measure.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £36,845 and £52,484.
The mean (£45,304) is below the median.
Median full-time pay: women £45,737 a year, men £50,525 a year.
Full-time paid hours are shorter than usual, a median of 32.5 a week.
About 74% of the roughly 46,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 40.2% (from £33,837), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 125,400 people in this line of work, 20% of them in South East.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £27,320 | £602.10 | £17.80 | £20,478* | £430.40 | £17.22 |
| 20th percentile | £34,405 | £719.30 | £19.74 | £26,304 | £557.20 | £19.80 |
| 25th percentile | £36,845 | £745.00 | £22.05 | £29,753 | £602.30 | £22.34 |
| 30th percentile | £39,192 | £775.60 | £24.32 | £32,055 | £654.40 | £24.26 |
| 40th percentile | £43,182 | £884.60 | £26.51 | £35,803 | £733.10 | £27.24 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £47,432 | £952.60 | £27.73 | £40,363 | £808.70 | £28.44 |
| 60th percentile | £49,898 | £981.50 | £29.90 | £46,440 | £928.00 | £30.31 |
| 70th percentile | £51,347 | £1,026.10 | £31.89 | £49,898 | £982.10 | £32.23 |
| 75th percentile | £52,484 | £1,049.40 | £32.70 | £50,831 | £1,007.20 | £33.04 |
| 80th percentile | £53,594 | £1,070.60 | £34.22 | £52,291 | £1,048.80 | £34.87 |
| Mean | £45,304 | £911.80 | £27.30 | £40,258 | £808.40 | £27.56 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £33,837 | £707.00 | £22.12 | £29,669* | £615.70 | 47 |
| 2022 revised | £36,363 | £705.80 | £21.97 | £29,601* | £613.10 | 45 |
| 2023 revised | £36,682 | £769.60 | £24.56 | £31,903* | £653.90 | 40 |
| 2024 revised | £43,248 | £850.50 | £26.57 | £35,919 | £705.70 | 45 |
| 2025 provisional | £47,432 | £952.60 | £27.73 | £40,363 | £808.70 | 46 |
Special and additional needs education teaching professionals by region
UK: 125,400 (± 13,700), April 2025 to March 2026. 5 of the 12 regions and nations have samples too small to publish.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 25,200* | ± 6,300 |
| London | 17,700* | ± 6,800 |
| West Midlands | 14,000* | ± 4,900 |
| North West | 13,100* | ± 4,400 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 9,700* | ± 3,600 |
| South West | 9,500* | ± 3,500 |
| Wales | 6,100* | ± 2,200 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What special and additional needs education teaching professionals do
Special and additional needs education teaching professionals organise and provide instruction at a variety of different levels to children who have emotional, behavioural or learning difficulties or physical disabilities. These professionals may also work with exceptionally gifted pupils. (ONS SOC 2020, 2316)
Also covers: behaviour support teacher, deputy head teacher (special/additional needs school), learning support teacher, special educational needs coordinator, special needs teacher, ABA tutor, assistant head, assistant headteacher, assistant principal, behaviour teacher, dance lecturer, dance teacher, dancing teacher, deputy head, deputy headteacher, deputy principal, house master and house mistress (50 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Creates a safe, stimulating and supportive learning environment for students
- Assesses student’s abilities, identifies student’s needs and devises curriculum and rota of teaching duties accordingly
- Gives instruction, using techniques appropriate to the student’s disability
- Develops and adapts conventional teaching methods to meet the individual student’s needs
- Encourages the student to develop self-help skills to circumvent the limitations imposed by their disability
- Prepares, assigns and corrects exercises to record and evaluate students’ progress
Entry is with a first degree that provides QTS (qualified teacher status) or, in Scotland, TQ (teaching qualification); or other relevant degree followed by further postgraduate training (most commonly PGCE – Postgraduate Certificate in Secondary Education, or, in Scotland, PGDE – Professional Graduate Diploma in Education). Additionally, prior experience in mainstream teaching is usually required, and further training for special needs teaching may be mandatory. A DBS check is mandatory
Related
Teaching professionals (median £47,328) · Nursery education teaching professionals · Teachers of english as a foreign language · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026