Teachers' trades union in the United Kingdom are trades union for teachers in operating in the United Kingdom.

Due to the differing education systems in the UK, most unions only organise in certain parts of the country and some focus on certain members of staff, such as headteachers. Teaching is an unusual profession in that it does not have one leading union, but has many different ones, often with differing aims. Having said that, the NEU and NASUWT jointly represent the vast majority of teachers in England and Wales, while the EIS represents the majority of teachers in Scotland.

For teachers and school staff looking for an alternative to the traditional teaching unions, Edapt provides legal support and advice in England and Wales.

List of teachers' trade unions

The table below lists all the UK's registered teachers' unions in the primary and secondary education sectors (up to age 16), with details of establishment, membership, where they organise and the types of members they accept:

Full nameShort nameEstablishedMembersFor unions based in England and Wales, this is the number of members contributing to the general fund in 2010, according to the Certification Officer; for organisations based in Northern Ireland, this is the number of members in 2009, excluding those in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Northern Ireland Certification Officer for Trade Unions and Employers' AssociationsEnglandNorthern IrelandScotlandWalesChannel Islands & Isle of ManNot part of the UK, but use the English education systemTeachersSchool leadersTeaching assistantsAssociation of Headteachers and Deputes in ScotlandAHDS19751,385Association of School and College LeadersASCL197724,913 Community Education section (formerly known as Voice)200443,865Educational Institute of ScotlandEIS184759,371Irish National Teachers' Organisation INTO18686,842National Association of Head TeachersNAHT189727,988NASUWTNASUWT1976285,963National Education Union: Association of Teachers and Lecturers sectionNEU/ATL2017 (1978 as ATL)160,000National Education Union: National Union of Teachers sectionNEU/NUT2017 (1870 as NUT)497,400School Leaders ScotlandSLS1936Part of the ASCLScottish Primary Teachers' AssociationSPTA2011Did not existScottish Secondary Teachers' AssociationSSTA19446,609Ulster Teachers' UnionUTU19196,429Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon CymruUCAC19403,879

See also UK labour law List of trade unions in the United Kingdom

References