LSE study of the Green Paper pay system for teachers and its effects
Teachers before the 'Threshold'
2. Key elements of the new pay system
In the words of the Green Paper, the key objective of the new salary and performance management system is 'to provide greater incentives and rewards for good performance and to establish routes for better career progression'.4 It comprises two key elements: the Threshold, and Performance Management.
The aim of the Threshold is to lift the barrier for classroom teachers' careers and rewards under the current salary system, which they normally reach after between seven and nine years in the job. It also seeks to improve the rewards for remaining in teaching as distinct from moving into management or education administration. The standards required to pass the Threshold successfully include: professional knowledge, teaching skills, wider professional effectiveness and characteristics, and the hotly debated element of 'pupil progress'. On passing the Threshold, the Government has proposed that teachers should receive an immediate salary enhancement of £2001.
The second element is Performance Management. Passing the Threshold would open up a new upper pay range extending from about £26k to about £30k, comprising four enhancements of about £1,000 based on the outcome of a Performance Review5. The system of Performance Review would apply to all teachers, but only for those on the upper pay spine, those in the leadership group, and those on the proposed 'Fast Track' below it, would pay be linked to performance.
4. Green Paper, Technical Consultation Document, p. 17.
5. There will also be additional allowances for management, recruitment and retention and special needs.
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