Salary guide
Designated Safeguarding Lead salary
What designated safeguarding leads are advertised at on live vacancies we hold — we name the nation whenever we publish a figure.
Official support staff pay spine · 2026/27
NJC pay points 3–43
Full-time, full-year rates from 1 April 2026 (3.3% increase agreed). Show all pay points
| Pay point (SCP) | Annual salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | £25,614 | £13.28 |
| 4 | £26,016 | £13.48 |
| 5 | £26,427 | £13.70 |
| 6 | £26,847 | £13.92 |
| 7 | £27,274 | £14.14 |
| 8 | £27,709 | £14.36 |
| 9 | £28,153 | £14.59 |
| 10 | £28,608 | £14.83 |
| 11 | £29,071 | £15.07 |
| 12 | £29,542 | £15.31 |
| 13 | £30,023 | £15.56 |
| 14 | £30,515 | £15.82 |
| 15 | £31,015 | £16.08 |
| 16 | £31,525 | £16.34 |
| 17 | £32,046 | £16.61 |
| 18 | £32,578 | £16.89 |
| 19 | £33,119 | £17.17 |
| 20 | £33,673 | £17.45 |
| 21 | £34,237 | £17.75 |
| 22 | £34,811 | £18.04 |
| 23 | £35,570 | £18.44 |
| 24 | £36,581 | £18.96 |
| 25 | £37,563 | £19.47 |
| 26 | £38,510 | £19.96 |
| 27 | £39,481 | £20.46 |
| 28 | £40,444 | £20.96 |
| 29 | £41,177 | £21.34 |
| 30 | £42,123 | £21.83 |
| 31 | £43,149 | £22.37 |
| 32 | £44,253 | £22.94 |
| 33 | £45,529 | £23.60 |
| 34 | £46,579 | £24.14 |
| 35 | £47,665 | £24.71 |
| 36 | £48,738 | £25.26 |
| 37 | £49,817 | £25.82 |
| 38 | £50,908 | £26.39 |
| 39 | £51,928 | £26.92 |
| 40 | £53,051 | £27.50 |
| 41 | £54,143 | £28.06 |
| 42 | £55,224 | £28.62 |
| 43 | £56,293 | £29.18 |
Source: NJC for Local Government Services pay agreement 2026 (Annex 1)
Councils and most maintained schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay support staff on this spine; each employer decides which pay points a role sits on. Annual figures are for a full-time (37-hour), all-year post — term-time and part-time staff are paid a proportion of them. Hourly rates are for a 37-hour week. Pay point 2 was removed, so the spine now starts at point 3. Academies, independent schools and private nurseries may use their own pay.
Read the official pay agreement (Local Government Association)Advertised salary evidence
Insufficient verified salary data
Insufficient verified salary data — we only publish pay figures we can evidence from live public vacancy adverts or official pay scales.
Insufficient verified salary data
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a figure here.
Statistics are derived from live public vacancies at the time of the last refresh. They are a snapshot of advertised pay, not a historical earnings series.
How we calculate salary informationDesignated Safeguarding Lead pay in UK education is set by the employer and the applicable pay framework. We publish figures here only where we can evidence them from live public vacancy adverts or an official pay scale.
What you can do instead
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a designated safeguarding lead pay figure. There are 8 live designated safeguarding lead vacancies you can review directly.
- Open the live designated safeguarding lead vacancies below — many adverts state pay directly.
- Check the pay framework that applies to the role, where one exists.
- Tell us if you spot a salary that looks wrong so we can review the advert.
Designated Safeguarding Lead job openings
HLTA Pastoral Lead and Designated Safeguarding Lead
Brooke School · Rugby
Designated Safeguarding Lead
New Horizons Primary School · Portsmouth
Strategic Designated Safeguarding Lead
Phoenix Primary School · Chatham
Designated Safeguarding Lead (Non-Teaching)
Manor Church of England Academy · York
Senior Leader for Safeguarding & Designated Safeguarding Lead
Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy · Oldbury
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Sheffield Inclusion Centre · Sheffield
Schools hiring designated safeguarding leads
Ranked by live vacancy volume. We do not publish employer-level pay figures.
Where designated safeguarding leads are being advertised
Areas with the most live designated safeguarding lead vacancies.
Similar roles to Designated Safeguarding Lead
Assistant SENCO
Teacher pay framework, often with a responsibility allowance (England)
See assistant senco salary guide
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
See deputy designated safeguarding lead salary guide
Deputy Head Pastoral
Leadership pay framework (England)
See deputy head pastoral salary guide
Deputy SENCO
Teacher pay framework, often with a responsibility allowance (England)
See deputy senco salary guide
Director of Inclusion
See director of inclusion salary guide
Director of SEND
See director of send salary guide
Career advice for designated safeguarding lead roles
Frequently asked questions
How much does a designated safeguarding lead earn?
We do not yet hold enough verified salary evidence to publish a designated safeguarding lead figure. Rather than estimate, we show live vacancies so you can see what employers are actually advertising.
Does designated safeguarding lead pay vary by area?
It can, but we only publish area differences where we have enough evidence for that area — we never apply a regional multiplier to invent a local figure.
What pay framework applies to a designated safeguarding lead?
There is no single pay framework that generally applies to this role: pay depends on the employer, the contract and the nation. Use the advertised salary evidence on this page and check the individual advert.
Find your next designated safeguarding lead job
Live UK designated safeguarding lead vacancies from schools, trusts and agencies.
Browse Designated Safeguarding Lead jobs