A new SEND Sixth Form in South Benfleet, Essex, will welcome its first students in September.
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Multi-year pay award for teachers
Teachers in England, including those in special schools, will receive a multi-year pay award of 3.5% from September 2026 followed by 3% from September 2027.
The deal, which the Department for Education says takes cumulative pay rises to 17% since 2024, applies to teachers and leaders in maintained schools and academies, including state-funded special schools.
Independent special schools set their own pay and are not covered by the award or funded for it. However the move resets the going rate for teaching staff across the sector.
That pressure comes on top of an already rising cost base. The National Living Wage, which sets the floor for many teaching-assistant and residential-care roles, rose to £12.71 in April, and the Low Pay Commission’s latest work points to further significant increases ahead — its central estimate for April 2027 is above £13 an hour. Employer National Insurance, raised last year, is absorbed in full by independently run providers, who receive none of the reimbursement given to state schools.
Charlotte Goddard