The Role of Governors in Teachers’ Performance Related Pay (PRP)

www.nga.org.uk 1

Who is the workshop aimed at? This presentation is aimed primarily at local authority (LA)

maintained school governors. Academy governors attending will also find it useful, particularly if they are using the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) as the framework for their school’s pay policy.

Academy is used to cover free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges.

Objectives of the session

At the end of the session, delegates should: understand the governing body's (GB’s) responsibilities on

Performance Related Pay (PRP) for teaching staff - i.e. what has changed and what they need to do about it

have had the opportunity to consider the opportunities and the challenges posed by the changes;

have had the opportunity to share policies and good practice; be equipped to monitor the implementation of the PRP policy in

order to ensure it is fair and objective; and understand what else needs to be done in preparation for any

appeal from September 2014 (although this is not training for appeal panel members).

Agenda

Introduction to GBs’ responsibilities on teachers’ pay

Table discussion

Report back from tables and group discussion

Ensuring consistent and effective implementation of PRP

Table discussion:

Report back & comment by trainer

Appeal process and the governors’ role

Plenary/Any questions

Core responsibilities of the GB The governing body (GB) is responsible for ensuring high standards of

performance in the school. The GB has statutory responsibilities for pay and appraisal – including making

final decisions about the pay of all teaching staff. (School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2013 paragraph 2.1 and the The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

The performance of staff employed at the school will have a significant effect on the learning of pupils, and therefore their achievements.

The headteacher is responsible for managing the performance of the staff, and the GB is responsible for performance managing the headteacher. The headteacher should provide information to the governing body about the

quality of teaching and appraisal outcomes. If the GB is unaware of staff performance it will be unable to evaluate the school’s progress.

If teaching is not good, the GB needs to know and to assure itself that actions are being taken to improve this in order to fulfil its duty.

What is the STPCD? STPCD is The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions

Document It sets out the arrangements (including the minima and

maxima of pay ranges) for teachers’ pay and other conditions of employment.

The STPCD is updated annually on 1 September Mandatory requirement for LA maintained schools Academies may choose to follow the STPCD – some

teachers’ in academies may have a continuing right to be paid according to the STPCD.

The STPCDSchool Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2013 and

guidance on School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions September 2013

‘LAs and governing bodies are required to have regard to the statutory guidance, and in respect of guidance on procedural matters a court or tribunal may take any failure to do so into account in any proceedings. Broadly speaking, this means that any party not following this guidance would need to have good reason not to do so and would need to be able to justify any departure from it.’

In other words …

The STPCD is statutory for LA maintained schools

It is contractual for many academies.

Teacher Pay Ranges & Allowances Main pay range – for teachers not on the upper pay range Upper pay range – usually more experienced teachers, who must meet the

statutory criteria and those set out by the school Leading practitioners range - for teachers whose primary purpose is to model

and lead the improvement of teaching skills (similar BUT NOT THE SAME AS previous designations of Advanced Skills Teachers and Excellent Teachers)

Leadership scale – assistant heads, deputy heads and headteachers Unqualified teachers range – for non-qualified teachers as defined in the STPCD Allowances

Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (additional responsibility award may be applied to main pay range or upper pay range teachers)

SEN Allowance (additional allowance with specific criteria relating to working with children with Special Educational Needs)

What were the main changes to the STPCD 2013?

All pay progression to be based on performance Main Pay Range (MPR) – removed six point scale and replaced it with a minima

and maxima Upper Pay Range (UPR) – introduced a single range with minima and maxima Leading Practitioner Range – new designation – teachers to be placed on an

individual range within the specified minima and maxima Unqualified Teacher Range – removed six point scale and replaced it with a

minima and maxima For governing bodies to determine any progression points between the minima

and maxima Impacts on pay progression from September 2014

Other changes to the STPCD 2013 Upper pay range – now for GBs:

to determine when/how often applications can be made

for GB to clarify criteria within the broad statutory framework

Leading Practitioners introduced as a new designation - teachers employed in posts that are for the primary purpose of modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills Advanced Skills Teacher and Excellent Teacher designations abolished

Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLRs) – new fixed-term TLR 3 introduced for time-limited school improvement projects or one-off externally driven

responsibilities

Pay portability – GBs are no longer obliged to pay teachers the same salary they received for a previous job in another school and have freedom to reflect this in pay polices.

Implementation The new STPCD came into effect from 1 September 2013

GBs should have made decisions about Advanced Skills Teacher and Excellent Teacher posts, i.e. to convert or abolish, by 1 September 2013

A new pay policy should have been in place before teachers’ objectives were set for the 2013/14 academic year

Pay progression decisions in September 2014 must to be linked to assessments of performance.

Teacher appraisal Revised arrangements for managing teacher appraisal in England came into force

on 1 September 2012. From 1 September 2013 – appraisal policies should have been amended to include

the explicit link to pay In LA maintained schools, appraisal of teaching staff (including the headteacher)

must take into account the Teachers’ Standards

must include objectives that, if achieved, will contribute to improving the education of the pupils at the school

must include objectives that, if achieved, will contribute to the implementation of the any school plan relating to improving educational provision and performance.

the GB must involve an external adviser in carrying out the appraisal of the headteacher

SMART objectivesSPECIFIC Is the objective precise and well-defined?

Is it clear and understandable to all?

MEASURABLE Achievement or progress can be measured.How will the individual know when the objective has been completed?Is it clear to all how success will be assessed/measured?

ACHIEVEABLE Is the outcome within the individual’s control?With reasonable, albeit challenging, amount of effort and application, can the objective be achieved?Does the individual have the capability to achieve the objective?Are the resources available to enable the individual to achieve the objective?

RELEVANT Is it relevant to the individual’s role?Is it relevant to the school’s priorities?

TIMEBOUND Is there a deadline?Is the objective achievable within the deadline?Is there a review built-in?

Good staff development mattersStaff performance and developmentAre two of the most, if not the most, important levers for school improvement so it needs to be done well in order for children and young people to achieve their potential.

Effective self-evaluationGoverning bodies have a statutory responsibility to conduct their schools so as to promote high standards of education; if there is no formal appraisal then the picture of the school is incomplete and it will not be possible to set an effective improvement strategy.

Continuing professional development (CPD) for staffIf there is no formal appraisal process then it is difficult to determine and arrange appropriate CPD, which again will impact on the standard of education offered.

Good employment practiceThe governing body has a duty of care to its staff, and appraisal is part of any effective organisation’s staffing procedures. All staff deserve to be managed well and, as part of this, to have an effective appraisal which is carried out properly and informs their CPD.

Pay/appraisal policies:issues you need to consider

Pay and appraisal policies are linked and need to complement each other Affordability – the budget must be sufficient to meet the stated rewards Performance measures – absolute or relative or a combination of both? What level of performance will be required for progression up the relevant pay

range? This should be defined (in the pay policy) How is progression differentiated so that the very highest performers can

progress faster? What sources of evidence will be used to assess performance e.g. self-

assessment, peer review, tracking pupil progress, lesson observations, the views of pupils and parents?

Have all teaching staff been made aware of what they will need to do to progress up the relevant pay range?

Table discussion Why attendees took the approach they did in their pay

policies

What challenges they think they may face in September 2014

Report back from tables

How do you know if your policy is being applied fairly?

All teaching staff must be given an equal chance to progress up the relevant pay range

The level of expected performance may be different for a relatively inexperienced teacher compared to one near the top of the main pay range. How does the GB know that objectives are consistent and offer all staff equal

opportunities?

What briefing sessions were arranged for staff to ensure they understand the pay policy and its interaction with performance appraisal?

Have you asked the HT to confirm that s/he has carried out a moderation process to ensure consistency?

Have you seen anonymised appraisal objectives?

Have any staff raised any formal grievances about their objectives?

Possible challenges When did you approve your policy? Was it communicated to all teaching staff? If objectives were set before the policy was approved, were teachers given the

opportunity to review their objectives? Does the governing body seek information about how the appraisal process is

carried out mid-year as well as at the end of year?

Possible challenges No surprises!

Are you confident that teachers are being managed well throughout the year?

Performance management should be a living process throughout the year – no individual should get to the end of the year and be surprised by the outcome, whether that is better or worse than anticipated

There should be informal dialogue throughout the year

Good practice to hold at least one formal mid-year review

Teachers must have the opportunity to address any concerns about their performance in-year

Issues on which you may need to seek advice from your HR provider How will teachers on maternity leave be treated?

How will teachers on long-term sick be treated?

OfstedThe Ofsted Framework (updated September 2013) revised and increased expectations in relation to appraisal and governors’ involvement in pay progression. Inspectors: will evaluate the robustness of performance management

arrangements, and consider whether there is an appropriate correlation between the quality of teaching in a school and the salary progression of the school’s teachers.

should consider whether governors: understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary

progression

performance manage the headteacher rigorously

Ensuring fair appraisal GBs must assure themselves that appraisals are as fair and objective as

possible What information has the GB received about what briefing those

undertaking appraisals have received

Have the governors undertaking the headteacher’s appraisal been trained?

Have anonymised objectives been shared with the relevant GB committee?

Challenges are different in different phases and size of school What processes does the headteacher have in place to ensure

consistency? The more people carrying out appraisals the bigger the challenge to ensure

consistency of approach

Is the maths department being harsher than the geography department?

Are certain groups being treated more/less favourably?

Key issues to consider in monitoring objectives and appraisal outcomes

Inconsistency – has the policy been applied consistency? Were all objectives SMART? Did staff have equal access to CPD and support? Were mid-year reviews carried out?

Discrimination – do outcomes show that any particular group men/women, BME staff have better/worse outcomes compared to the generality of staff?

Staff morale - appraisal needs to ensure good teachers know their work will be recognised and rewarded, not a mechanism to depress salaries

Recruitment and retention – well-valued staff more likely to stay and the school be seen as good place to work

Appeals – well-defined system which is properly conducted is less likely to lead to appeals, but you need to be well prepared to hold appeals if necessary.

Pay decisions Has the relevant committee agreed appraisal/pay

decisions? What information should the committee see? Can it demonstrate that these were considered carefully and

not rubber stamped? How many formal appeals have been lodged?

What would success look like for PRP for teachers ? Table discussion: What would the successful implementation of PRP look like for

a) teachers?

b) the governing body? What do we need to do to ensure this is happening during this

school year and in autumn 2014?

Appeal process and the governors’ role The pay policy must include an appeals procedure

All teaching staff must be made aware of the procedure Pay progression purely on the basis of performance means

that appeals are more likely Governors must be appropriately prepared to hear appeals

before any appeals are lodged (good practice would be for the governing body to arrange a training session for these governors).

Grounds for appealPay policy needs to be clear about the grounds for an appeal and the process to be followed, e.g. Incorrect application of the STPCD Failure to take proper account of statutory guidance in the

STPCD Failure to follow the school’s own policies (appraisal or

pay) properly Failure to take account of relevant evidence Or taking into account irrelevant or inaccurate evidence Unlawful discrimination against an employeeObjection to PRP is not a grounds for appeal.

Appeal panel Panel to be made up of (usually) three governors not

involved in initial pay decisions Panel members must be familiar with:

the pay policy the appraisal policy

Panel members should have received appropriate training in relation to the conduct of pay appeal hearings. There is no mandatory requirement to train but it would be

good practice Seek early advice from your HR provider on appropriate

training Clerking – any appeal hearing must be properly clerked.

Review of pay policy post September 20141. How effectively are the staff appraised?2. How effectively do we appraise the headteacher? 3. What should our pay policy say about performance and progression?4. What is the correlation between appraisal outcomes, pay and the quality of teaching and learning?5. How effective is performance management in improving teaching and learning?

(Source: ‘NGA Knowing Your School: Governors and Staff Performance’)

Information sources DfE website – Teachers’ Pay 2013 http://www.education.gov.uk/g00227186/school-teachers'-pay-a

nd-conditions-2013 STPCD 2013 DfE Advice - Reviewing and revising your school’s approach to

teachers’ pay, August 2013 http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00224072/review-teacher-pay

DfE Myths and facts teachers’ pay The school’s HR provider ACAS – www.acas.org.uk

Review of session What worked well?

What could have been better?

For more information

Contact usNCTL

By phone: 0345 609 0009 By email: governors@education.gsi.gov.uk http://

www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/index/roles/governors-role

NGA By phone: 0121 237 3780 By e-mail: governorhq@nga.org.uk www.nga.org.uk