It’s safe to say that teachers and school workers are some of the hardest-working people up and down the UK. I genuinely salute you! However, like millions of other people, you likely still find it tricky to make ends meet sometimes. Have you ever tried taking advantage of a few cheeky discounts or savings as a result of your working status?
As it happens, there are stacks of great discounts for teachers and school staff that you might not be making the most out of. Teacher discounts could help you get money off:
- Equipment for your job
- Travel costs that get you to and from school
- Little bits and pieces you need in everyday life
There are stacks of teacher discounts UK educators don’t know about, and I’ve done some serious digging to help you stack up the pennies as costs go up. Take a look at the top discounts and teacher perks below – and do let me know if I missed any important ones!
Am I eligible for teacher discounts and teacher perks?
That all depends on the deals you look into, and your working status. If you can prove that you’re a teacher or that you work in an educational setting in the UK, you’ll likely be able to grab a few freebies.
There’s also a few different ways you can grab teacher discounts, too. You can:
- Sign up for teacher reward schemes online
- Ask about discounts with specific retailers
- Contact your local authorities
It never hurts to ask, and in many cases, you’ll be surprised at what money you can get off and where – just because you work at a school!
I’m going to run through a few teacher discounts membership options shortly below, but for now, let’s focus on a few quick ways you can grab money off on some specific retailers and products.
Fantastic discounts for teachers and school staff you might not know about
You’ll never know what you might save unless you go digging, so let’s get straight into some perks for teachers and school staff that could seriously lower your cost of living.
Sign up for an ITIC card
If you’re a registered teacher in the UK, you can sign up for an ITIC card, which serves as both a form of identity and a way for you to save on all kinds of everyday expenses.
You’ll need to be a full-time teacher working at a legitimate educational institution in the UK for at least 18 hours a week – and you’ll need to have been registered there for at least a year.
It’s easy to apply for an ITIC card – simply head to the site linked and provide photo ID – and a yearly payment of £12. It’s an extra £3 if you want a plastic card, as £12 pays for a virtual pass.
With ITIC, you’ll get money off on flights abroad by up to 40%, and STA Travel will grant you an extra 5% off on insurance when you decide to jet off.
ITIC cards also grant you money off on train travel, Apple products, dining in and out, and trips to the cinema and theatre. It’s a great way to find cheaper ways to unwind from a hectic week at school!
Money off wills
Perhaps not the happiest of discounts and perks available to teachers, but it’s entirely possible you could claim money back off will writing through your teachers’ union. For example, are you registered with either the NASUWT or the SSTA? If so, reach out to your representatives for more details.
If you’re with either of these unions, you can actually apply for free will writing altogether. That’s an amazing saving if you’ve yet to ensure your loved ones are protected should you pass away.
If you’re over 55, you could also benefit from Free Wills Month, a charity event that takes place once a year to provide hard-working people with access to free legal will writing.
Contact the National Education Union
Beyond teacher discount codes, it’s a great idea to start getting in touch with unions to claim back money wherever possible. The National Education Union, or NEU, is the biggest union of its kind in the UK, responsible for presenting over 450,000 registered people.
Through this union, you can claim rewards, insurance protection and money off all kinds of everyday items. The best part is, it’s easy to join the NEU through their website.
Beyond teacher discounts and money off, you can also get help with various policies that may be affecting your school and the way you work. It’s a really big voice to join if you’re worried about anything unfolding that may threaten the way you work in school.
Get a great deal on a car
It’s fair to say that many teachers drive to and from school, and for that reason, paying for petrol or diesel is likely to be a huge drain on your monthly income. Not all of us have the pleasure of driving electric vehicles yet – but help is at hand if you want to cut the cost of buying a car outright.
The Motor Source Group is a brilliant resource for all kinds of people working in essential jobs across the UK. The organisation helps to find great deals on cars for teachers, people working in the prison service, police officers, NHS staff, public sector officials, emergency response workers and those working in the military.
The savings here are potentially massive – you could save up to £10,000 on a car outright compared to an average lot price, for example!
Of course, there are financing options available – but it’s worth comparing the rate you’re offered by your bank before you consider MSG’s prices.
Contact your council
Believe it or not, there may be some big teacher discounts hidden away at your local council or authority! If you’re employed directly by your council, they may be able to grant you some money off on their services and facilities.
Or, you may even be able to claim money off on various contracts and technology purchases. The best thing to do is to try speaking to your local council directly to see what’s available. And don’t worry, you’re not being cheeky!
Beyond this, always be ready to compare the deals that you’re offered through council teacher discount deals. It pays to be savvy about the offers that open up to you, simply because a cheeky voucher code here and there might work out even better value on the whole.
Snag a laptop for less!
It’s pretty easy to assume that most teachers and support staff need computers in this day and age to carry out a curriculum! As such, Dell steps forward with a fantastic scheme that can help you claim up to 20% off on their tech. That’s money off on laptops, monitors, desktop PCs and more.
The Dell Advantage Scheme operates online and allows you to claim a teacher voucher to apply at checkout. This scheme also allows you to claim even more money at specific times of year, such as on Black Friday.
All you ever need to do is provide your academic email address to claim your voucher code. Wait for it to arrive, and you can then copy and paste it once you’ve found the tech you’d like to buy!
With more and more teachers working from home, being able to access cheaper tech is a massive plus. What’s more, it looks unlikely Dell will discontinue this scheme any time soon.
Upgrade your smartphone
O2, the mobile network, provides a 25% discount service called O2 Open that allows professionals in certain industries to claim money back from their airtime plans. If you’re set to upgrade your phone or are finding that you need to save money on minutes and data each month, it’s easy to apply to O2 to start cutting down those direct debits.
You can get started by texting O2 directly – text OPEN and the name of your school or establishment to 61202. Alternatively, a HR representative at your school may help you access this discount directly.
You can then buy a phone directly through O2 Refresh and sign up with your discount through your new online account. O2 will need to verify either your work payslip for the month or your academic email address before they can apply your teacher’s discount.
Teacher discount schemes to look out for
In addition to the above, there’s a handful of popular teacher money off schemes and clubs that can grant you access to more perks at online retailers and on the high street. Here’s my pick of the best teacher voucher schemes available for UK educators right now:
DiscountsForTeachers
DiscountsForTeachers is perhaps the best-known educational perks scheme available for professionals to sign up for in the UK right now. One of the absolute best reasons to get started with DFT is the fact you don’t have to be a teacher to benefit from money off! You can be a retired teacher, a lecturer, support assistant, a deputy headmaster… or even a member of the dinner staff.
It’s free to join DiscountsForTeachers, and they regularly provide money off at popular brands and chains such as Adidas, EE, Simply Be, BuyAGift, Clarks, Apple and ASDA. That means you could get money off on anything from groceries to a new TV, to something nice for the family for Christmas.
The DFT site is also packed full of useful guides and information for teachers and school staff, meaning it’s more than just a voucher repository.
Teacher Perks
Hot on the heels of DiscountsForTeachers is Teacher Perks, a nifty little site that can offer you extra money off on travel, clubs and everyday brands. In fact, it may be worth signing up for both DFT and Teacher Perks if you can!
Teacher Perks works similarly, in that it provides exclusive money off deals to people who work in education in the UK. The site also provides members with access to exclusive supplies and money off equipment they’ll use in their work from day to day.
For example, Teacher Perks provides money off on Exam Papers Plus, meaning you can source practice papers for primary and secondary pupils for less. What’s more, headmasters will be pleased to hear that you can also claim money off designing your school’s website from scratch.
Other money off here includes discounts on Hilton hotels, money off memberships at Nuffield Health, and savings on trips with Virgin Holidays.
Do also take a look at the free resources available at Teacher Perks, too – there’s cooking guides for kids, nursing resources, grammar lesson plans and guides on how you can teach your science pupils all about space!
UNiDAYS and Apple
UNiDAYS is a discount provider that predominantly supports students, but there’s a brilliant staff account option, too – that connects you to big money off on pricing for Apple products such as iPads, Macs, and MacBooks.
Considering Apple tech can be quite the investment, it’s well worth tapping into money off through this scheme if you can. To get started, head directly to Apple and verify the academic email address you log into at work.
This is a great little alternative to the Dell Advantage scheme – perfect for anyone who prefers MacOS to Windows, in any case!
Don’t keep shelling out!
Teachers and school staff don’t have to suffer from high prices – in fact, there are plenty of secret discounts and perks out there you’ll likely want to get access to across the year.
Take a look at some of the clubs and voucher schemes I’ve listed above – and again, if you work in education and if you know of any additional discounts I may have missed, I’d love to hear from you. Please comment below and share your money off with the world!
In the meantime, start saving on travel, tech – and even holidays. You deserve to!
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