Most school support staff in England and Wales are paid on the NJC pay spine: a list of spinal column points (SCPs), each with an FTE salary. Your council or school decides which points your grade covers.
The 2026/27 pay award
- 3.3% on spine points 3 to 43
- Backdated to 1 April 2026
- Agreed in a circular dated 24 August 2026
- SCP 2 deleted, so the spine now starts at SCP 3: £25,614 (£13.28 an hour)
SCP 3’s hourly rate of £13.28 is above the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour (from April 2026, for workers aged 21 and over).
How to use the table
The table below shows each spine point’s FTE salary, the hourly rate (FTE ÷ 37 ÷ 52.143), and what it pays on a typical 30-hour, 39-week term-time contract with Green Book holiday (under 5 years’ service).
For different hours or weeks, use the term-time pay calculator, or the quick FTE to actual salary tool.
The values come from the site’s rules file and are updated each year when the new pay award is agreed. Only a selection of spine points is shown. Your council publishes the full scale.
Previous year: 2025/26
The 2025/26 award was 3.2% on spine points 2 to 43 from 1 April 2025. If your 2026/27 increase hasn’t been paid yet, you’ll still be on 2025/26 rates. For example, SCP 5 was £25,583, which is about £17,763 a year at 30 hours and 39 weeks.
Scotland and London
- Scotland has its own SJC pay scales, set separately through COSLA.
- London councils use their own GLPC pay arrangements and weighting.