The survey was conducted by an independent statistician and was open from 16 September 2021 to 17 December 2021. In total there were 545 respondents that answered enough questions to be included in the results.

Twenty-four percent of respondents had taught as an employed teacher in a school or other educational establishment since September 2021. This was almost the same as the previous year, maintaining the 6-7% reduction on pre-pandemic levels.

Most of the respondents reported their hourly rate, with the median rate increasing over 10% to £33.85 per hour, this could be explained by the large increase in respondents working in London. As expected, rates continue to be higher in independent schools than state schools, by around £6 per hour and rates remain lower in music services and hubs. As seen in previous years, the rates paid in independent schools was statistically higher than those in the other two main establishments.

Hourly rates for employed music teachers by school type (excluding higher education and music schools due to small sample size)

Ensemble rates

Fifty-five respondents reported a fee for group or ensemble teaching, the vast majority being paid per group (just five people are paid per member). Rates ranged from £12 per hour to £60 per hour.

Almost 24% of ensemble teachers reported an increase in their hourly rate. The median rate of £35 per hour was almost 15% higher than in 2019/20. Numbers taught in each group range from two up to 45.

Holiday pay

Around 35% of employed teachers said their holiday entitlement is pro-rated and of those, 57% answered that their holiday is part of their hourly rate. However, close to 30% of respondents do not know if their holiday is pro-rated.

Pension scheme

50% of employed teachers report being enrolled in their employers’ pension scheme, with the vast majority in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (86%, compared with 81% in last year’s survey).

Weeks working

Most of the part-time employees answered how many weeks they work during a normal school year and the majority work between 30 and 36 weeks (bottom 20% to top 20%). The median number of working weeks was similar to previous years at 32 weeks, however, as seen previously, a large proportion (40%) report working 30 weeks. Despite continuing uncertainty, 89% of teachers expect to work the same amount as usual this academic year.

Number of children taught

Most respondents told us how many children they teach (118 of 131 employed teachers). The majority taught between 12 and 50 children (bottom 20% to top 20%), with a median of 26 – very slightly up on the previous two years. The average number was 37, though this was skewed by one respondent that reported a total of 250 pupils. These figures are almost exactly the same as in the last survey, which in turn was similar to 2019, suggesting that the pandemic has not had a long-lasting impact on pupil numbers.

For our full survey results, see: The ISM’s annual survey of teaching, examining and accompanying rates: Conducted September - December 2021.