Wales has firmed up teacher pay and conditions for this school year. A new Order signed by Cabinet Secretary for Education Lynne Neagle on 4 February 2026 comes into force on 6 March. It applies to school teachers in Wales and sets how pay and working time are determined under Welsh Government guidance.

Beneath the legal wording, two versions of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document 2025/26 do the heavy lifting. The revised February 2026 text governs the period from 1 September 2025 to 7 March 2026. A second version, revised March 2026, takes effect on and after 8 March 2026, according to the Order.

In practical terms, this is a backdated settlement for the whole academic year. Local authorities and maintained schools in Wales will need to ensure pay and allowances reflect the Welsh Government document from 1 September 2025, then switch to the March revision for the remainder of 2025/26.

Section 2 of the document is the key bit. It sets rules for teacher remuneration and other employment conditions tied to professional duties and directed time. The legal basis is in sections 122 to 124 of the Education Act 2002, with powers transferred from the UK Government to Welsh Ministers in 2018, as noted in the Order.

For heads and school business managers across North Wales, the timing lands just as budgets are finalised. Expect payroll reruns, revisions to allowances where required, and updates to directed time calendars ahead of the summer term so staff contracts and timetables line up with the March edition.

Border authorities in the North West will be watching closely. Teachers commute daily between Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire and neighbouring Cheshire, Wirral and Shropshire. Any pay drift or changes to working time in Wales can nudge recruitment and retention for English schools near the A55 and A483 corridors.

Welsh Ministers say they consulted the bodies listed under section 126 of the 2002 Act before making the Order. The 2025 Order is revoked, tidying up last year’s arrangements and replacing them with the 2025/26 framework set out in the revised documents.

The Order itself doesn’t publish salary figures; those sit inside the Welsh Government’s Teaching and Leadership material. The instruction is clear though: use the February 2026 revision for 1 September 2025 to 7 March 2026, then apply the March 2026 revision from 8 March onwards.

For parents and staff, the takeaway is straightforward. Pay and conditions for teachers in Wales are now confirmed for the rest of this academic year, with backdating to September ensuring consistency across schools and local authorities.

We’ll be tracking how these changes play through in staffing across the North Wales–North West labour market this spring, and whether policy makers in England move to mirror any of the Welsh approach in their own guidance.