Teachers standards review FAQs

As set out in the Schools White Paper - The Importance of Teaching, the Government's view is that the existing proliferation of teachers’ standards can make it confusing and difficult for teachers to plan their own development, and to manage performance effectively.

The scope is defined by the review group's terms of reference. The intention, as set out in the white paper, is to make sure that the new standards have a stronger focus on key elements of teaching, including:

• the best approaches to the teaching of early reading and early mathematics
• how best to manage poor behaviour
• how to support children with additional needs, including special educational needs and disabilities

The review group has not been considering any questions relating to teachers’ pay and conditions.

No. Consideration of standards for school leaders, including those for headteachers is outside the scope of the review. The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) is currently revising the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).

On 6 December 2011 the Department announced that prospective headteachers will be able to take a new enhanced qualification from 2012. The current NPQH will be overhauled and strengthened, and become optional early in 2012.

Ministers appointed an independent chair, Sally Coates, Principal of Burlington Danes Academy in London, to carry out the review. Sally is supported by 14 practitioners and educational experts, including teachers and headteachers from maintained schools, academies and special schools.

A first report was submitted to the Secretary of State in July 2011, setting out recommendations for qualified teacher status (QTS) and Core standards. The review group recommended that a new set of teachers’ standards should be introduced to replace the existing QTS and Core standards. This recommendation was accepted by the Secretary of State.

A second, final report has been published on 12 December.

The final report recommends that the current higher-level standards (Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher standards) should be discontinued.

It also recommends the establishment of a new standard to describe the practice of excellent teachers, and that this should be called the “Master Teacher standard”.

The review group has developed new teachers’ standards which set the baseline expectations for all teachers’ practice. They are intended to make it easier for teachers and headteachers to assess teacher performance. The purpose of the review is to provide a clear set of expectations which help teachers plan their own professional development to become good or outstanding classroom teachers.

The proposed Master Teacher standard has been designed to set out a clear and rigorous statement of what it means to be an excellent teacher at the top of the profession. It has been built on the foundation of the teachers’ standards, and is intended to provide an aspirational statement which all teachers can strive towards.

In the second phase of its work, the review group considered a wide range of evidence from domestic and international sources. It also conducted a call for evidence which received submissions from over 400 individuals and organisations.

Following the production of its initial draft, the group tested its proposals with a range of audiences, including school leaders and experienced teachers in England and Wales. It also held discussions with the main teacher and headteacher unions. The feedback received from this process played a key part in helping the review group refine its proposals.

The Secretary of State has accepted the principle and wording of the proposed Master Teacher standard, and has agreed to give further detailed consideration to how the standard might be implemented in future.

His letter of response has been published on our website.

The Secretary of State will need to consider further a number of issues, including those related to the review’s proposal to discontinue the existing Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher standards, before detailed implementation plans can be agreed.

The review group makes no recommendations on teachers’ pay, but has observed that it does not expect the standard to be directly linked to pay. 

Any changes to teachers’ pay and conditions in maintained schools in England and Wales are determined by the Secretary of State following recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

The review group is confident that the proposed Master Teacher Standard can be applied in all educational settings, and has given careful consideration to this in the process of drafting. Membership of the review group includes representatives of the primary, secondary and special school sectors, who have all given their support to the proposed standard.

The review is recommending that existing AST standards be discontinued. The Secretary of State has responded that he will consider further the implications of withdrawing any of the current standards. At this stage there are no detailed plans for this, or for the implementation of the new Master Teacher standard, so it is too early to say how current arrangements might be affected.

The review group recognises how important it is to maintain a link between the new standards and career progression for classroom teachers. The group is confident that the Master Teacher standard clearly defines the characteristics of accomplished teaching, building on the characteristics of good teachers in the new teachers’ standards. It is envisaged that the standards can provide a means of recognition for good or excellent teachers who want to remain in the classroom, and also steer the professional development of teachers.

The review has made a recommendation that there should be no minimum length of service required before a teacher can meet the standard. However, the standard is exacting in terms of its breadth and depth, and it is unlikely that many newly qualified teachers would have the range of experience necessary to meet the standard. However, there are some truly outstanding individuals entering the profession, and it is right that their abilities should be recognised without them having to wait for an arbitrarily defined period of time.

The review group has designed the Master Teacher standard as a description of the characteristics of excellent teaching. It is based around the same fundamentals of high-quality teaching as are set out in the new teachers’ standards, and expressed at a level that identifies the very best classroom practitioners.

Although the Secretary of State has welcomed the principle of the proposed Master Teacher standard, there is not yet a plan for its implementation. It is therefore too early to say what the application process might look like. Further details will be announced in due course, when the Secretary of State has given more detailed consideration to the review’s recommendations.

The aim of the review is to establish a set of standards that are clear and that will inspire confidence in the profession, by focusing on the key elements of teaching.

The review group is confident that the proposed Master Teacher standard will have credibility within the profession, recognising the excellent professional practice of the very best teachers. It is too early to give an approximate figure of how many teachers could become Master Teachers, but the review group hopes that the Master Teacher it will be a standard that all teachers will aspire to attain.

For teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales, the provisions in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) continue to apply. Any changes to these provisions will be for the Secretary of State to determine, following recommendations from the School Teachers' Review Body.

The teaching profession sent a strong message to the review group through the 'call for evidence' that there is a value to a higher-level standard identifying the key characteristics of excellent classroom practice.

The Secretary of State asked the review group to produce a streamlined set of standards for teachers that is unequivocal. This will make it easier for headteachers and teachers to assess performance and steer professional development. The review is now recommending that the existing standards, which are complex and bureaucratic, be discontinued. The proposed Master Teacher standard sets out a clear statement of what it means to be an excellent teacher.

For teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales, the provisions in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) continue to apply. Any changes to these provisions will be for the Secretary of State to determine, following recommendations from the School Teachers' Review Body.