Should teachers in shortage subjects like maths and physics be paid more than other teachers?
UK schools face persistent shortages of specialist teachers in maths and physics, with only 55% of physics hours and around 80% of maths hours delivered by degree-qualified staff in recent years, hitting disadvantaged schools hardest. The government offers targeted bursaries up to £29,000 for trainees in these subjects and retention incentives up to £6,000 for early-career teachers, alongside a uniform 3.5% pay rise from September 2026 that applies to all teachers. Recent analysis shows retraining serving teachers is far cheaper than recruitment incentives for addressing specialist gaps.
7 Opinions
All teachers pay should be equal no matter the subject, retrain current teachers in these subjects as it says its more cost effective.
Yes, for two reasons. Firstly to address the problem of supply and demand in shortage subjects. By definition, a shortage means there is unfulfilled demand, so we'd want to increase supply to meet that demand. But the second and perhaps more important reason is to encourage more and better teachers in those critical areas. A good way to do that is to offer more compensation to attract higher calibre candidates. It would also help drive competition for jobs.
People shouldn't be paid differently for doing the same job. It wouldn't be fair to the other teachers who work just as hard and trained just as much.
Of course. Supply and demand still apply.
Salaries should be set by market. If demand is high and supply is low - salaries should higher. Regulatory salaries smell like communism.