Teaching assistant: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Higher level teaching assistants (SOC 3231)
About £22,259 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +0.8% on last year
£2,169 a month About £1,855 a month after tax 20 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £21,710 in 2021 to £26,026 in 2026 (+20%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £15,914 | £18,335 | £21,710 | £23,521 | x |
| 2022 | x | x | x | x | x |
| 2023 | £17,706 | £20,517 | £22,741 | £25,789 | x |
| 2024 | £19,369 | £22,237 | £24,077 | £27,991 | x |
| 2025 | x | £22,555 | £25,812 | £29,865 | x |
| 2026 | £19,270 | £22,598 | £26,026 | £29,951 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £26,026 a year and half earn more. That is 36% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £22,598 and £29,951; one in ten earns less than £19,270.
Ranked by median, it is number 346 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,855 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,858 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £19,270 | £1,606 |
| 20th | £21,668 | £1,806 |
| 25th (P25) | £22,598 | £1,883 |
| 30th | £23,356 | £1,946 |
| 40th | £24,796 | £2,066 |
| Median (50th) | £26,026 | £2,169 |
| 60th | £27,536 | £2,295 |
| 70th | £28,728 | £2,394 |
| 75th (P75) | £29,951 | £2,496 |
| 80th | £30,644 | £2,554 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £27,014 | x |
| Women | £25,857 | £25,804 | 18 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £22,259 | £1,855 |
| Scotland | £22,298 | £1,858 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £26,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 8 job titles to SOC 3231 Higher level teaching assistants. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Advanced teaching assistant
- High level teaching assistant
- Higher level teaching assistant
- HLTA
- Learning support practitioner
- Sen hlta
- TA
- Teaching assistant
Similar occupations
All jobs in Associate professional occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.