Legal & business

ISM annual fees survey

Statistician Alix Naylor of Naylor Research Partnership provides a summary of this year’s findings

Above: Alix Naylor Sample overview

This year’s survey of fees charged or earned by ISM members for teaching, accompanying and examining was open from 16 September 2021 until 17 December 2021. There was an increase in the number of respondents compared to the previous year, most likely due to the relaxed lockdown measures, though the submissions were still well below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that the profession has yet to recover from the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

As with previous years, more than 40% of the sample is from London and the South East of England, so the results from the survey are likely to be overrepresentative of the situation in this area.

Respondents’ teaching experience was similar to previous years, with the majority of people having been teaching for more than 15 years. The trend of recent years for a reduction in the proportion of teachers with less than five years’ experience continues. This might suggest a drop in the number of new teachers entering the sector, though it is possible that there may be less of a propensity for younger teachers to respond to the survey.

Piano or organ is once again the most common instrument. As might be expected there were fewer woodwind teachers, though vocal teaching has maintained its popularity.

Private Teaching

The number of private teachers able to do some face-to-face teaching recovered almost to pre-pandemic levels (89%), with a corresponding reduction – to 70% – in those doing remote teaching.

Median rates for face-to-face and remote teaching are now the same. It appears the concept of online teaching is now firmly established with both teachers and pupils, despite the reported difficulties in providing remote teaching such as poor connectivity and sound quality.

The overall median rates for private teaching increased by 6%, well above the official UK inflation rate which was 2.9% to the year ending September 2021.

In regional terms, London as usual has the highest median rate, but there has been no increase on last year’s £40 per hour. Regions outside London have caught up to varying degrees, with the West Midlands up by nearly 8% and the East of England enjoying a 13% rise. More than a third reported that they had increased rates, but many teachers did not do so due to the impact of COVID-19. Although rates are rising, some respondents noted that the pandemic had resulted in fewer opportunities, a reduction in students, or both, with a concomitant reduction in overall income.

Teachers Employed in Schools

A quarter 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.

The most common employer remained independent schools, still markedly higher than in pre-pandemic surveys at 42%, but there was a notable increase in the proportion of state school employees, bringing this figure back to pre-pandemic levels.

Around a third of employed teachers reported a pay rise this year. The overall median rate increased by more than 10% to £33.85 per hour, although this figure may be explained by the large increase in proportion of 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. 36% expect their rates to increase over the next year.

In terms of pupil numbers, the majority taught between 12 and 50 children with a median of 26. 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, despite a number of comments about fewer opportunities for music lessons at school, restrictions on groups and more time being needed between individual lessons to sanitise equipment.

Self-employed Visiting Teachers

185 respondents had worked in schools as selfemployed visiting teachers since September 2021, 34% of the total number of people completing the survey, slightly up on last year. Of those, 40% had worked in independent schools and 40% in state schools. Fees in independent schools were much higher, with a median rate of £40 per hour with state schools at £33 per hour. The median rate across all establishments was £36, an increase of almost 6%.

About half of visiting teachers were located in London and the South East of England, with no other region having more than 10% of the total. Just under half of self-employed teachers had conducted teaching remotely, either instead of or in addition to face-to-face teaching. Almost all charged the same rate, regardless of the delivery method.

Just over 35% of self-employed teachers reported an increase in hourly rates. Where given, pay uplifts were fairly modest, at £1 per hour median increase. 34% expect rates to increase in the next academic year and it is notable that approximately half of those who expect to see a rate increase are those who also received an increase this year. In contrast, about two-thirds of those whose pay stalled this year are pessimistic about an increase by September 2022.

As with teachers employed by schools, the figures show that the median number of pupils remains steady at 18, despite some comments about loss of pupils by teachers.

Accompanists and examiners

As last year, opportunities for accompanying work were restricted at times due to lockdown and other measures, with remote options less feasible than for teaching. Less than 20% of survey respondents reported that they had done accompanying work and just 5% had worked as examiners. Median rates ranged from £33.50 per hour for grades 1-4, up to £50 per hour for organists in church. 12% of the sample – the same proportion as last year – had work streamed online, with only half of those reporting that they had received a fee. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The results suggest that for some teachers, rates have increased above inflation. Others did not feel able to increase their fees during the pandemic, citing concerns about suppressing demand at a time when many people were struggling financially. 193 people answered the question about payment if a student in an educational establishment was required to isolate. Of these, 69% were still paid. 118 people responded to the question about payment if a whole class was required to isolate – of these 55% were still paid.

In terms of pupil numbers, the majority of school-employed teachers taught between 12 and 50 children with a median of 26, with self-employed visiting teachers a median of 18. 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, despite a number of comments about fewer opportunities for music lessons at school, restrictions on groups and more time being needed between individual lessons to sanitise equipment.

Comments indicated that other restrictions on teaching in education establishments were as might be expected. Some teachers conducted their own risk assessments and implemented changes to their routine accordingly. No one reported that they were obliged to take lateral flow tests or confirm their vaccination status.

For more information on our survey and to read the full report visit our website at ism.org

Alex Naylor will be presenting a webinar on the fees survey, see ism.org/professional-development/ webinars for more information.