There are more than 2000 independent schools in locations from Scotland, Wales & England for primary school teachers should you be looking for private school jobs.
An independent fee paying school could also be known as a boarding school or preparatory school in the UK.
Pay & benefits negotiations stance is they’ll try and match the salary you currently have from another independent school or from MPS/UPS from government maintained sector. Boarding & day private schools pay teachers according to budget constraints with small schools offering lower salary packages.
Some UK private schools could offer 2% to 15% salary more that government maintained school salary scale, although tends to be for shortage subject teachers or large student intake.
Senior teachers on UPS2/3 at a government school could be offered a basic salary that’s less moving to teach at senior or boarding school, all depends on the size of student roll and budget of the school.
Smaller preparatory schools generally pay less than government school as they have a lower financial budget for salaries and operating costs, although you’ll be offered additional benefits part of an annual salary package.
“UK private school teacher salary Scotland to London generally from £30,000 – £63,000 full time for qualified teachers without additional responsibilities in 2023. Some smaller prep schools pay from £29,000 per annum with a few top senior independent schools paying almost £70,000 per year F/T for a highly experienced class teacher”.
Boarding, prep & senior UK independent school head teacher salary from £54,000 – £230,000 per year + benefits full time. Top paying schools that are well funded, many pupils and high fees pay a bit more for top performing executives, principals or headteacher.
Previously offered private school teacher salaries
| Subject | Salary | Location |
| Mathematics teacher | £31,000 – £48,500 (MPS) | Kent |
| Science teacher | £30,700 – £47,000 + SEN 1 | West Yorkshire |
| Teacher of English (EAL) | £24,000 – £42,160 | Devon |
| Maths teacher | £30,000 – £48,000 | Oxfordshire |
| English Teacher | £30,000 to £44,000 | Bedfordshire |
| Design Technology Teacher | £30,600 to £44,200 | Bedfordshire |
| Physics/ Science teacher | £37,000 – £61,105 | London |
| Teacher of English (SEN) | £27,000 – £31,000 | Warwickshire |
| Head of English | £43,800 – £45,000 | Cambridgeshire |
| PSHE & Humanities Teacher | £32,000 – £36,500 | Hertfordshire |
| Music teacher | £29,300 – £36,961 | Hampshire |
| English Teacher | £40,000 | Outer London |
| Maths teacher | £30,700 to £38,330 | Northumberland |
| Curriculum Leader of Spanish | £37,147 – £42,434 + TLR 2B | South Yorkshire |
| Director of Religious Education | £41,147 – £52,979 + TLR1c | Hertfordshire |
Boarding & independent school pay benefits package UK include:
- Basic salary according to teaching experience, position level and school budget.
- Free or subsidised lunches while working.
- Enrolment in teacher’s pension scheme and or private pension employer contributions.
- Free life insurance.
- Paid training courses.
- Children school fee remission from 50% to 85%.
- Criminal record DBS paid.
- Use of games & sports facilities.
- Possible bus/rail travel to work scheme.
- 13 + weeks holidays and national days off.
Teachers that teach at independent & boarding school are expected to play a full role. You’ll work longer days between 07.30 – 16.30 teaching then extra curricula activities 2/3 days a week resulting in longer holidays.
Teaching assistant salary at independent school
- Private school level 2/3 teaching assistant salary £15,000 – £22,000 full time per year + benefits.
- Independent school higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) salary £18,500 – £26,000 + benefits package per annum.
- Whole school SENCO, London salary up to £50,000 per year full time at private schools in UK.
Independent school jobs roles
Differing in size, you can apply for jobs in private schools located in cities, towns, villages and rural locations.
Private education schools offer teacher positions where educators can find independent and boarding school jobs in UK 4 to 18 year old’s.
Teacher positions at boarding school
Teaching jobs private schools include: Classroom teacher, subject leader, head of department, headmaster, assistant head teacher, pre school leader, private nursery teacher, deputy head teacher, school bursar, early year practitioner, school nurse, independent school teaching assistant, independent head of year
Each of these teaching roles at independent school can be from:
Whole school independent teaching jobs from 3 to 18 years old
Preparatory school teacher jobs for children at 4 to 13 years
School curriculum
A well-balanced education that encompasses academic and moral balance is delivered by subject teachers. Academic and vocational subjects are offered to pupils at each stage of their school life enabling them to achieve excellent academic results while learning.
Independent school teaching jobs as a subject teacher include:
mathematics, English, science, biology, art & design. physical education, religious education. geography, languages, history, music, information technology. French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Japanese. food technology, drama, computing
Jobs at private independent schools in the UK offer students options to study a selection of subjects from 14 to 18-year-old toward AS Level, GCSE, A Level’s GCE, Advanced Highers and Baccalaureate qualifications.
Independent preparatory school jobs for teachers and other school vacancies for younger school children from 4 to 13 years old.
In this age group subjects taught, skills, knowledge and experience are different from senior preparatory school where pupils study and take final examinations before leaving school.
Boarding school support jobs
There are many jobs at private independent schools in the UK. Roles including:
Housemaster/Mistress, Matron, driver, cook/chef, caretaker, registrar accountant, sports coach, grounds person, personal assistant, nurse and/or as teacher, hospitality assistant, business manager, nursery staff, room leader, marketing, human resources, finance assistant, cleaner, finance officer, school administrator, admin assistant sports assistant, science/lab technician
Independent schools in English counties for teacher jobs and education job roles:
Bedfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Cornwall Cumberland Derbyshire Devon Dorset Durham Essex Gloucestershire Hampshire Herefordshire Hertfordshire Huntingdonshire Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Middlesex Norfolk Northamptonshire Northumberland
Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Rutland Shropshire Somerset Staffordshire Suffolk
Surrey Sussex Warwickshire Westmorland Wiltshire Worcestershire Yorkshire
Cities and town where same schools are located:
Nottingham, Dundee, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Canterbury, Manchester, Chester, London, Reading, Oxford, Liverpool, Exeter, Bristol, York, Doncaster, Newmarket, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Sheffield. Newcastle, Salisbury, Inverness, Glasgow, Brighton, Leeds
Independent school
Overseas parents see the independent private school system as a world leading education sector and choose to send their child to be educated at a UK boarding school or in countries including Switzerland, USA, Germany, Australia and France.
The main benefits of schools in the private sector are that they can employ the teachers that they believe can successfully achieve the school’s aims and objectives.
Independent school teacher’s jobs at prep schools have much fewer constraints teaching, setting a curriculum, and the employment of teachers in UK from Edinburgh private schools to London and Glasgow independent schools .
Indeed, jobs at private schools include: house parent, driver, admin, classroom teacher, head of department or a sports coach doubling up as a physical education teacher.
Although private independent school teachers are qualified, they do no have the same criteria as state school teaching positions in relation to qualifications.
Boarding & independent positive factors include:
- Free to choose their own budget and set aside money for further improvements to facilities and learning.
- No local authority or national government controls.
- Able to raise funds, borrow money, accept donations, charge financial fees.
- Choose their own planning and timetable.
- Offer students a greater range of subjects.
- Working and teaching in private school, more emphasis is on extra curricular activities that are available to students all year.
- Much better facilities and resources compared to the state-run school sector.
- Independent & boarding schools are a popular choose for teachers looking for a long career in teaching and tend to stay with one school providing stability and continuity.
Boarding and day school UK
Although schools offer boarding, where pupils live and study at the school for each term, many school pupils attend without boarding and some schools do not offer boarding arrangements.
Students without boarding at the school return home at the end of each day essentially staying with their family. This is in contrast to students that live at the school for a term or two and only go home for holidays.
Students who stay at the school have a different life from day attendees and would become more dependent on school staff.
This is where many jobs at boarding schools arise that caters to help deliver all the requirements of students and the school, especially house parent and extra curricula activities job roles
I did not believe it myself some parents send their 8-year-old son’s and daughters to independent school as they believe:
- A tradition in their family.
- Parents think it is the best for the child’s education.
- Or the parents are too busy with their own career in the UK or travel abroad frequently.
Who is to say if it is the best for a child to be sent to live at a school for an academic year. Possibly a good proportion of the children would cope although others may not fit into the regime and miss the comfort of their family.
A benefit for the child would be for them to build up contacts for later life in a job, starting a business or going into politics.
Further UK school locations
Wales’s counties that have private teaching school jobs and other job vacancies:
Blaenau Gwent Bridgend Caerphilly Cardiff Carmarthenshire Ceredigion Conwy Denbighshire Flintshire Gwynedd Isle of Anglesey Merthyr Tydfil Monmouthshire Neath Port Talbot Newport Pembrokeshire Powys Rhondda Cynon Taff Swansea Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham
Where to find jobs?
Look also on job boards in the education sector, general popular newspapers and private school websites.
Applying for private school teaching vacancies and other positions is much the same as state schools.
Qualified teacher with experience or newly qualified teacher (NQT) jobs require completing an application and awaiting an interview.
Jobs at in the UK are for people aged over 16 years old, although some have gender restriction.