The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (England) Order 2026 has been made by the Department for Education and will come into force on 6 November 2026. According to the statutory instrument, it gives legal effect to the 2026 framework for the remuneration of school teachers in England and for employment conditions linked to their professional duties and working time. The Order was made on 14 October 2026 and laid before Parliament on 16 October 2026. It is signed by Georgia Gould, Minister of State for School Standards, using powers in sections 122, 123 and 124 of the Education Act 2002.
Rather than setting out the full pay and conditions text in the body of the instrument, the Order gives effect to Section 2 of a separate document: the School teachers' pay and conditions document 2026 and guidance on school teachers' pay and conditions, dated 14 October 2026. That document is the operative source for determining teachers' remuneration and the parts of their employment conditions that relate to duties and working time. For schools and employers, that drafting structure matters. The legal authority sits in the Order, but the detail that payroll teams, governing bodies and school leaders will need to apply sits in the accompanying Department for Education document.
The most important timing point is that the instrument works retrospectively. Article 2 states that the provisions in Section 2 of the 2026 document have effect on and after 1 September 2026, even though the Order itself does not come into force until 6 November 2026. The Explanatory Note says this is done under section 123(3) of the Education Act 2002. In practical terms, the 2026 to 2027 school year begins under the new pay and conditions framework from the start of September, not from November. Where schools or employers need to make adjustments, those changes may need to be reflected back to 1 September 2026.
The territorial wording is also precise. The Order extends to England and Wales, but it applies only to school teachers in England. The notes to the instrument explain that the relevant functions for Wales were transferred to the Welsh Ministers under the Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) Order 2018. That distinction is important for readers comparing arrangements across jurisdictions. This instrument forms part of the England-only statutory framework, even though the formal territorial extent is wider.
The Order also records the statutory process followed before it was made. The Secretary of State referred matters to the School Teachers' Review Body under section 120 of the 2002 Act, and the body then reported to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State after following the procedure in section 121. The text notes three exceptions to the usual referral route. Two were treated as subsidiary matters under section 125, while a third proceeded after consultation with the chair of the Review Body on disapplying the referral requirement. The Secretary of State then considered the report and consulted persons and bodies regarded as appropriate under section 126.
For the sector, the immediate compliance point is clear. The 2025 Order, S.I. 2025/892, is revoked, and the 2026 document now supplies the governing terms for the new cycle. Schools covered by the statutory scheme will need to ensure that pay determinations and any linked administrative or contractual processes are aligned with the 2026 document from 1 September 2026. The instrument itself does not reproduce the substantive pay figures or all revised conditions in full. Anyone checking pay ranges, duties or working-time provisions will need to read the separate Department for Education document alongside the Order.
The Explanatory Note states that no full impact assessment has been produced because no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen and no significant impact on the public sector is foreseen. That indicates the department is treating the measure as part of the established annual statutory process rather than as a broader structural change. The legal position is therefore straightforward. From 6 November 2026, the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (England) Order 2026 is in force; from 1 September 2026, the provisions in Section 2 of the 2026 pay and conditions document apply for determining teachers' pay and the covered elements of their professional duties and working time.