
Instead of automatic annual increments progressing through the grade, teachers will be expected to demonstrate good performance before receiving a pay increase. Schools should be working on how they will put a procedure into place. This is not a new phenomenon. When I was working for the Probation Service over 15 years ago, it was introduced for the senior management team. So, is performance related pay back in favour?
The idea is that performance related pay (or merit pay) will reward excellent teachers more money and hopefully incentivise poor performers to increase the quality of their teaching. Teachers? performance will have to be closely appraised so that the link between performance and pay is very clear. Whilst there are good and bad teachers in the education system, there are advantages and disadvantages with this idea. The plan is for performance related pay to increase flexibility in schools, to attract and retain quality teachers, to attract more graduates into the profession and create a culture of professional development. A report produced by the Policy Exchange about performance related pay and teachers stated that a well designed system should include:- An evaluation based on several measures, not just test or exam scores;
- A prolonged evaluation over more than one year to reduce volatility in results and to allow staff to adjust to the new assessments;
- Financial rewards based on increases in base salary, rather than through bonuses;
- The use of performance pay to recruit and retain effective teachers, including the use of Pupil Premium funds to pay for this; and
- The use of performance pay not as a way of holding down pay, but as a reward for real excellence. This may require the redesign of teacher pay bands within a school.
- Impact on pupil progress;
- Impact on wider outcomes for pupils;
- Contribution to improvements in other areas (eg pupils? behaviour or lesson planning);
- Professional and career development; and
- Wider contribution to the work of the school, for instance their involvement in school business outside the classroom
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