A fact sheet setting out what the report means for teachers can be found in on this page.

 
 What does this mean for my school?

The new arrangements for teachers’ pay will come into effect from September 2013. Schools will need to begin thinking now about the implications of the changes and revising their pay and appraisal policies so that they are ready to implement them from next term. September 2013 will be the last time when annual increments are awarded to teachers based on their length of service.

Pay decisions made in September 2014 will need to be linked to assessments of performance. Any reference to annual increments in existing pay policies should be removed.

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 What do I need to do, and by when?

By September 2013 your school will need to have reviewed and revised its pay and appraisal policies, setting out how pay progression will in future be linked to a teacher’s performance and ensuring that everyone involved in the process understands why and how pay decisions are made. The Department has produced advice to support schools as they prepare for these changes.

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 But this isn’t the final version of the STPCD – can we really start to make changes now?

Yes – although this version of the STPCD has no statutory force until September 2013, the reforms for September 2013 are finalised in this version of the STPCD following two periods of consultation. 

When we have received recommendations from the STRB on the September 2013 pay award we will need to update some aspects of the document, particularly those relating to pay ranges. However, those aspects of the document relating to the new performance-related pay arrangements are not expected to change.

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 What happens about pay decisions this September?

The current arrangements (as set out in the September 2012 STPCD) apply to pay decisions this September, but September 2013 will be the last time when teachers’ pay progression is based on an annual incremental system.

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 Why does the revised STPCD not include the pay tables?

This is because we cannot update the 2012 tables until we know what the STRB will recommend on precisely how the 1 per cent uplift should be applied for the 2013 award. Once we know those details in early summer and what impact they will have on the pay tables, we will ensure that they are updated and made available.

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 Why does the Secretary of State want to reform teachers’ pay?

Improving the quality of teaching is essential to driving up school standards and raising attainment of pupils. We therefore need arrangements for teachers’ pay which: 

  • reward good performance and attract the highest performing graduates and professionals into the profession;
  • give schools as much freedom as possible to spend their money as they see fit to meet their pupils’ needs;
  • ensure the best teachers are incentivised to work in the most challenging schools; and
  • provide the best value for money for the tax payer.

The current teachers’ pay system is rigid, complex and difficult to navigate, and does not support schools to recruit and retain the high-quality teachers or leaders they need to address specific shortages and benefit their pupils. 

Evidence shows that under the current system:

  • automatic pay progression means there is a poor correlation between a teacher’s performance and reward; and
  • schools in some parts of the country struggle to recruit and retain good teachers.

This provides a strong case for reform, to free up the current system of teachers’ pay to support greater school autonomy.

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 What is being recommended?

The STRB report recommends:

  • linking all pay progression to performance;
  • removing automatic progression based on time served;
  • giving schools the option of awarding differential pay progression based on performance;
  • giving schools more scope to pay high performers more;
  • replacing the current threshold test for progression from the main to the upper pay scale with simple criteria based on one set of teacher standards; and
  • more discretion for schools in the use of allowances for recruitment and retention.

 

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 Do the STRB’s recommendations meet the Secretary of State’s ambitions for reform?

We believe they represent a significant step towards meeting the Government’s objectives for pay reform in the teaching profession. They will make it easier for schools to meet their local needs, reward and promote good teachers, ensure accountability at a local level for the quality of teaching and raise the status of teaching as a profession. Subject to the views of consultees, the Secretary of State intends to accept all the key recommendations.

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 Why do you think that performance pay will make a difference?

We know that high-performing teachers drive up pupils’ attainment and we need a system that recognises this. Strengthening the link between performance and pay is fundamental so that high-performing teachers are properly rewarded for the impact that they are having on their pupils’ achievements.

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 If it is left to the discretion of headteachers to decide on the pay of their staff, won’t this lead to less rather than greater transparency?

No. Pay arrangements in any school will need to be set out clearly in the school’s pay policy so that all teachers are clear on how their performance will be linked to pay and the use that will be made of any appraisal information.

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 Does this mean that headteachers will be able to cut teachers’ pay?

No. Nobody will have their pay cut as a result of the recommendations. The aim is not to cut the pay of hard-working teachers, but to create a stronger link between pay and performance that will help schools to recruit and retain the best and highest quality teachers, and to incentivise excellent teaching. It cannot be right that in the pay system poor teaching is tolerated and even rewarded by automatic pay progression. We want to give school leaders greater autonomy to manage their schools and their funding in the way they wish. This includes freeing up headteachers to pay their teachers what they consider an appropriate wage.

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 What about headteachers’ pay? Are you just making these changes for teachers and not headteachers?

An element of linkage between pay and performance already exists for headteachers and others in leadership positions, but there may be scope for more flexibility and simplification in respect of the current system. The STRB itself has recognised that there is a case for considering how the pay of the leadership group may need to change to bring it in line with any proposed changes to teachers’ pay. This is one area that we may wish to come back to in a future remit to the STRB.

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 What will happen to those teachers who are currently on the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) and Excellent Teacher (ET) scales?

The recommendations provide for the creation of posts that will pay salaries above the upper pay scale and that will enable some of the very best teachers to remain in the classroom to demonstrate excellent teaching and lead the improvement of teaching skills. We propose to accept this recommendation. It will be for individual schools to decide whether or not to create such posts and whether or not to move existing ASTs and ETs into those posts.

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 What happens to teachers who were expecting to apply for threshold this year?

The arrangements for round 13 threshold applications that are set out in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2012 will continue to apply during the lifetime of that document.

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 Do you think that schools have the capacity to deal with all these proposed changes? Won’t this distract headteachers from focusing on teaching and learning?

There is already a lot of experience in the system of linking pay to performance on the upper pay scale and in relation to leadership group pay. Schools will be able to build on this.

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 How can you ensure that schools implement performance-related pay in a fair and equitable manner? Is there not a risk that schools will see an increase in equal pay challenges?

Schools will need to develop systematic and transparent arrangements for both appraisal and pay. In England, the appraisal regulations and the Department’s model appraisal policy, which require appraisal against the Teachers’ Standards, provide a framework which can be developed by individual schools to meet their specific circumstances. There will be a crucial role for governing bodies to ensure that the arrangements put in place are appropriate and to hold headteachers to account.

The STRB has recommended that the Department develops guidance or a toolkit to help schools develop systematic and transparent local approaches to pay progression. Subject to consultees’ views, we propose to accept this recommendation.

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 Are governing godies equipped and skilled to ensure headteachers stick to the rules? What will they need to do differently?

We recognise that governing bodies and headteachers are likely to find this a challenging process. Our expectation is that all schools will need to review and revise their pay policies to reflect the changes and to clarify their approach to making pay decisions. There may also need to be changes to school appraisal policies to reflect closer links between performance and pay. Some schools may want to review their staffing structures (changes may arise from the removal of separate ET and AST roles) and some schools may want to review their current arrangements for allowances to take advantage of the new flexibilities available to them. We think some schools may well welcome some central guidance to help them deal with these changes. That is why we are proposing to accept the STRB’s recommendation that we offer schools some guidance, or a toolkit to help them develop their local policies.

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 Isn’t this just a further dilution of teachers’ pay and conditions and the latest stage in the Government’s attack on the profession?

Far from it. This is not an attack on hard-working teachers or school leaders. Our objective is to ensure that schools and school leaders have greater flexibility to use the pay system to attract the teachers they need and to incentivise good performance to ensure pupils receive the very best education, wherever they live.

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