Teaching assistants: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time teaching assistants in the UK earned a median £21,239 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 46% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
Just 0 of 382 occupations with a published full-time median are lower.
Pay is tightly bunched, from £17,070 at the 10th percentile to £27,203 at the 90th.
Median full-time pay: women £21,123 a year, men £22,280 a year.
Full-time paid hours are shorter than usual, a median of 32.5 a week.
Most jobs here are part-time: 131,000 of about 325,000 are full-time.
From £17,146 in 2021, the median is up 23.9%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 151,100 people in this line of work, 15% of them in London.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £17,070 | £409.80 | £12.56 | £9,046 | £180.80 | £12.57 |
| 20th percentile | £18,409 | £431.30 | £12.94 | £12,555 | £271.80 | £12.98 |
| 25th percentile | £18,789 | £444.50 | £13.09 | £13,660 | £308.40 | £13.07 |
| 30th percentile | £19,207 | £452.10 | £13.29 | £14,830 | £336.40 | £13.29 |
| 40th percentile | £20,269 | £470.90 | £13.85 | £16,601 | £374.30 | £13.85 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £21,239 | £488.30 | £14.35 | £18,024 | £409.70 | £14.40 |
| 60th percentile | £22,123 | £506.10 | £14.81 | £19,173 | £439.50 | £14.76 |
| 70th percentile | £23,452 | £531.20 | £15.36 | £20,685 | £471.10 | £15.44 |
| 75th percentile | £24,152 | £547.10 | £15.74 | £21,468 | £488.00 | £15.87 |
| 80th percentile | £25,056 | £562.80 | £16.10 | £22,328 | £506.10 | £16.33 |
| 90th percentile | £27,203 | £606.60 | £17.65 | £25,152 | £560.10 | £18.53 |
| Mean | £21,488 | £502.80 | £14.73 | £17,504 | £392.60 | £14.91 |
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 | £17,146 | £362.00 | £10.44 | £13,602 | £289.00 | 305 |
| 2022 revised | £17,287 | £379.90 | £11.02 | £14,084 | £315.20 | 290 |
| 2023 revised | £19,037 | £414.80 | £11.95 | £15,505 | £347.30 | 262 |
| 2024 revised | £20,540 | £456.70 | £13.15 | £17,265 | £382.20 | 295 |
| 2025 provisional | £21,239 | £488.30 | £14.35 | £18,024 | £409.70 | 325 |
Teaching assistants by region
UK: 151,100 (± 15,100), April 2025 to March 2026. 4 of the 12 regions and nations have samples too small to publish.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| London | 22,300* | ± 7,700 |
| South East | 21,600* | ± 5,800 |
| North West | 17,400* | ± 5,000 |
| West Midlands | 13,400* | ± 4,800 |
| Northern Ireland | 13,200* | ± 3,700 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 11,300* | ± 3,900 |
| South West | 9,200* | ± 3,500 |
| Wales | 8,300* | ± 2,600 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What teaching assistants do
Teaching assistants assist teachers with their day-to-day classroom work and with routine administrative tasks. (ONS SOC 2020, 6112)
Also covers: classroom assistant, school assistant, teaching assistant, ancillary assistant, ancillary helper, auxiliary assistant, care assistant, class attendant, classroom ancillary, classroom helper, cover supervisor, educational assistant, food technician, general assistant, primary helper, school auxiliary and school help (33 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Assists teacher with preparation or clearing up of classroom
- Looks after lesson materials such as paper, pencils and crayons
- Listens to children read, reads to them or tells stories
- Assists children with washing or dressing for outdoor and similar activities
- Makes simple teaching aids and constructs thematic displays of educational material or children’s work
- Helps with outings and other out-of-classroom activities
Academic qualifications may be required by some employers, although entry is possible with relevant experience (possibly on a voluntary basis) alone. NVQs at level 2 and 3 qualifications are available. DBS clearance is mandatory.
Related
Teaching and childcare support occupations (median £21,920) · Early education and childcare assistants · Educational support assistants · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026