According to Welsh Statutory Instrument 2026/129, Welsh Ministers made the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions (No. 2) (Wales) Order 2026 on 22 October 2026. It comes into force on 20 November 2026, applies to school teachers in Wales, and was signed by Anna Brychan, Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language. The instrument uses the definition of “school teacher” in section 122(3) to (6) of the Education Act 2002. That places the measure within the existing statutory framework for teachers’ pay and conditions, rather than creating a new legal definition for the workforce.
The operative provision is article 2. Instead of restating the full pay and conditions framework in the Order itself, it gives legal effect to section 2 of the “School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document 2026 and guidance on school teachers’ pay and conditions”, published by the Welsh Government on its teaching and leadership pages. In practical terms, the statutory instrument works by incorporating that document. Section 2 of the Welsh Government text is the material that must be used when determining teachers’ remuneration and the employment conditions linked to professional duties and working time.
The date structure is the point most likely to matter for employers and staff. Although the Order comes into force on 20 November 2026, article 2 states that the relevant provisions have effect on and after 1 September 2026. The explanatory note says this retrospective effect is made under section 123(3) of the Education Act 2002. For payroll teams, governing bodies and local authorities, the result is that the legally relevant start point is the beginning of the 2026 autumn term, not the later November commencement date.
Article 3 revokes the earlier School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions (Wales) Order 2026, cited in the note as W.S.I. 2026/29. The “No. 2” label is therefore substantive rather than cosmetic: it identifies this as the replacement instrument for the 2026 Welsh framework. That matters for compliance and record-keeping. Schools and employers now have a single current order to follow, reducing the chance of parallel references to an earlier instrument when making pay determinations or interpreting working time and professional duties.
The legal basis is set out directly in the instrument. Welsh Ministers make the Order under sections 122, 123 and 124 of the Education Act 2002, using functions that originally sat with the Secretary of State and were transferred to them under the Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) Order 2018. The Order also records that consultation took place in line with section 126 of the 2002 Act, with those persons and bodies considered appropriate by Welsh Ministers. That point will be relevant to unions, employer representatives and school leaders tracking whether the statutory process was followed before the measure was made.
The explanatory note adds that the Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered and that a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared on the likely costs and benefits of compliance. The note says a copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government’s School Practitioner Division at Cathays Park in Cardiff. For the sector, the immediate effect is operational. Schools, local authorities and governing bodies will need to read the replacement Order alongside the Welsh Government’s 2026 pay and conditions document, check whether September pay and working time decisions align with section 2, and treat the revoked earlier order as superseded from 20 November 2026.