Following a public consultation between May and August 2011, new arrangements for managing teacher performance in England came into force on 1 September 2012.

These are contained in new regulations that cover teacher appraisal and a model policy that covers both appraisal and capability. Together, they form one of a number of changes that are designed to improve the quality of teaching.

The new regulations on teacher appraisal are mandatory for maintained schools and local authorities. They give schools and local authorities more freedom to design appraisal policies that suit their own individual circumstances, and have removed a number of unnecessary restrictions such as the three-hour limit on classroom observation. Please see the FAQs page for more detail.

The new model policy, accessible in Word and PDF formats, provides an example of the sort of policy that schools might want to adopt when managing teacher performance. It is in two parts. Part A covers the routine appraisal arrangements that apply to all teachers and Part B covers the capability procedures that apply only to teachers about whose performance there are serious concerns that the appraisal process has been unable to address. Part B is consistent with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

Rationale for the change

  • The evidence from around the world shows us that the most important factor in determining the effectiveness of a school system is the quality of its teachers.
  • Good teachers make a profound difference. Studies in the US have shown that a pupil taught for three consecutive years by a teacher in the top ten per cent of performance can make as much as two years more progress than a pupil taught for the same period by a teacher in the bottom ten per cent of performance.
  • The majority of teachers in our schools are highly competent professionals who are committed to providing a good education for our children. Where teachers do not meet the standards that are expected of the profession, it is important that headteachers have the freedom and authority they need to tackle under-performance.
  • No one is helped when poor performance remains un-addressed. Under-performing teachers place additional pressures on their colleagues and let down the children in their care.

What's new?

Teacher appraisal

Under the new regulations, The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012. 

  • Governing bodies and local authorities must adopt a written appraisal policy which sets out an annual appraisal process for their teachers.
  • Governing bodies must appoint an external adviser to advise them in appraising the headteacher.
  • Teachers must be told of the standards against which their performance will be assessed.
  • Teachers must have objectives which, if achieved, will contribute to improving the education of pupils at that school; and to the implementation of the school’s improvement plan.
  • Teachers’ performance must be assessed against their objectives and the relevant standards. For the vast majority of teachers, the relevant standards are the Teachers’ Standards.
  • Teachers have to be given a written appraisal report which sets out:
    • an assessment of their performance against their objectives and the standards;
    • an assessment of their training and development needs; and
    • where relevant, a recommendation on pay progression.

Most of these requirements featured in the previous regulations. 

The main changes are that under the new regulations:

  • Teachers’ performance of their role and responsibilities will be assessed against the relevant standards and their objectives.
  • Most of the prescription in the previous regulations has disappeared, including the three-hour limit on classroom observation. 

Teacher capability

The model policy sets out an example of a model capability policy that schools might like to follow for teachers about whose performance there are serious concerns and that the appraisal process has been unable to address. It is shorter and less complex than the previous procedure, and complements, rather than duplicates, the appraisal process.

The main changes are:

  • There is no informal stage in the capability procedure.
  • The suggested length of the monitoring and review period following a first warning has been reduced in length from 20 weeks to between four and ten weeks. It is important to note that the length of the review period must be reasonable in the circumstances of each case, and must provide sufficient time for improvement to take place.

Further details on arrangements to provide details about teacher capability and managing staff employment in schools can be found on this website.