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An independent review body has called on the Government to link teachers’ pay more closely to their performance.

The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which makes recommendations to Government on teachers’ pay reforms, is calling for greater freedom for schools to set teachers’ pay.

In its report published yesterday (Wednesday) it recommends a simpler, more flexible national pay framework for teachers. Taking on board international evidence and views from Government, employers, and teacher and head teacher unions, it proposes:

• ending pay increases based on length of service – currently virtually all full time classroom teachers on the main pay scale automatically progress to the next pay point;
• linking all teachers’ pay progression to performance, based on annual appraisals – already the case for some teachers who are on a higher pay scale;
• abolishing mandatory pay points within the pay scales for classroom teachers to give schools greater freedom on how much teachers are paid. They would remain in place for reference only in the main pay scale to guide career expectations for new teachers entering the profession; and
• retaining the higher pay bands for London and fringe areas.

Dame Patricia Hodgson, Chair of the STRB, said:

We believe our recommendations will help schools to recruit, retain and reward the best teachers. It will give heads freedom to manage teachers’ pay according to pupil needs and local circumstances, within a fair national framework.

Subject to a statutory consultation, the Coalition Government intends to accept the key recommendations.

The Chancellor, as confirmed in last year’s Autumn Statement, set out an uplift for public sector pay of up to one per cent. The statutory minima and maxima for classroom teachers’ pay will be uprated by one per cent in each year, 2013-14 and 2014-15. Schools are free to determine the extent of pay uplifts to teachers within the statutory minima and maxima, and will be able to provide an uplift of one per cent, in line with any overall uplift in pay in the public sector, if they so choose.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

These recommendations will make teaching a more attractive career and a more rewarding job. They will give schools greater flexibility to respond to specific conditions and reward their best teachers.

It is vital that teachers can be paid more without having to leave the classroom. This will be particularly important to schools in the most disadvantaged areas as it will empower them to attract and recruit the best teachers.

I am grateful for the careful consideration which the STRB has given to these matters. Subject to the consultation, I intend to accept all of the key recommendations.

In February this year, the Secretary of State commissioned the STRB to consider how reforms could be made to help address the quality of teaching, along with raising the status of the profession and supporting the recruitment and retention of teachers in different areas of the country. The STRB gathered evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including the Government, governors’ associations, and teacher and head teacher unions in reaching its final recommendations.

Evidence shows that improving the quality of teaching is essential to driving up standards in schools. Pupils taught by good teachers score nearly half a GCSE point more per subject than pupils taught by poor teachers. The impact is even more significant for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, according to the Sutton Trust. For poor pupils, the difference between a very good teacher and a bad teacher may be a whole year’s education.

Under the current system for teachers’ pay:

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

Subject to the statutory consultation, the changes would come into effect from September 2013.

This relates to England and Wales

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