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The NUT's advice is that this is the only aspect of
the performance review for the purposes of movement on the Upper Pay Scale for
which the headteacher can legitimately require further evidence. NUT members
who are post-threshold teachers may choose to draw to the attention of their
headteachers their achievements in relation to performance . management
objectives. If members choose not to take this option, it should not be counted
against them. As indicated above, members may also wish to draw attention to
any professional development activities in which they have participated.
Statement of Salary
Assessment
The NUT believes that the statement which is provided
to a post-threshold teacher should contain the reasons for the headteacher's
recommendation to the governing body in respect of movement to point 2 of the
Upper Pay Scale.
NUT Guidance to Leadership Group
Members
Guidance has been sent to all NUT members who are in
the Leadership Group on the post-threshold process. In addition, the June 2002
issue of the National Association of Governors and Managers journal contains
NUT guidance for governing bodies.
Advice from NAHT/SHA and Others
The National Association of Headteachers and Secondary
Heads Association have sent out joint guidance which now conforms with the
NUT's guidance to members in the leadership groups. The current NAHT/SHA
guidance states that:
o Schools should not seek to introduce any additional
criteria.
o The head (should) consider the performance of the
teacher against the threshold standards and consider whether the level of
performance has been sustained over the past two years.
o Both the NAHT and SHA have made absolutely clear
that all those who satisfy the criteria contained in the School Teachers' Pay
and Conditions Document for progression on both the upper pay spine and the
leadership group should be recommended by the head for an award of pay. All the
organisations representing members in the leadership group have now made it
clear that there should be no additional criteria for assessing whether
teachers move to UPS2 on the upper scale. Such additional criteria as that
produced by CEA should not be used.
Headteachers may be in receipt of advice from local
education authorities or other bodies which is in guidance. For example,
Cambridge Education Associates (CEA), the organisation responsible for
providing threshold assessors for the threshold process, have also produced
guidance on the post?threshold process. It takes the form of a set of
post?threshold performance descriptors under each of the current threshold
standards. Both the NUT and the NAHT/SHA guidance emphasise that there is no
requirement to follow such guidance and that such descriptors should not be
used.
DATES FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND PAYMENT AND FUNDING
ISSUES
Date from which Payment is
Due
The Government's failure to resolve the provisions of
funding for progression on the Upper Pay Scale until late in the summer term
has delayed the whole process. In consequence, decisions by schools are taking
place this term. Payments will, however, be implemented from 1 September 2002
on a backdated basis. As indicated in the earlier quoted extracts from the Pay
and Conditions Document, teachers who move from point 1 to point 2 of the Upper
Pay Scale are entitled to receive the higher rate of pay "with effect from 1
September".
Date of Actual Payment
The grant payments to schools towards the costs of
the additional payments to teachers are expected to be made in January. In the
meantime, however, the delay in the payment of the actual grant to schools
should not be accepted as a valid reason for delaying the actual payment to
teachers. Schools can draw upon other budget heads pending receipt of the grant
and reimburse those other areas of the budget when payment is received. Many
schools have significant surplus balances which will allow this. In exceptional
cases of genuine and severe budgetary shortfalls, the LEA should be approached
for temporary assistance to prevent the otherwise delayed payment to the
teachers concerned.
Funding
Schools in England will receive 80 per cent of the
costs. The precise amount allocated to individual schools is subject to the
outcome of a survey currently being undertaken by the DfES. This is intended to
ensure that schools which now employ more teachers eligible for progression
than passed the threshold in September 2000, as a result of consequent staffing
changes, are not penalised by funding based on outdated data. Schools in Wales,
however, should receive 100 per cent of the costs from their LEAs, as the
National Assembly has allocated additional funding for this purpose.
TEACHERS IN PARTICULAR
CIRCUMSTANCES
Teachers who have Moved Post Teachers who have moved
to new schools from 1 September 2002 or during the previous year should not be
denied progression on the basis that their contribution to their new schools
cannot be assessed. The statutotory guidance allows teachers to progress on the
basis of their contribution to "schools in which the teacher has previously
worked". Teachers in this position are advised, therefore, to seek written
confirmation from the headteacher(s) of their previous school(s) that their
work satisfied the criteria and present it to the headteacher of their new
school. Such confirmation should be accepted by the headteacher and result in
progression to point 2 of the Upper Pay Scale.
Teachers with More than One Post
Some teachers will hold more than one post and be
employed, for example, under two separate regular part?time contracts with two
different schools. In such situations, separate reviews have to be undertaken
in each of the schools concerned. The commonsense solution will be for the
school in which the teacher works most of the time to undertake the review
first and, once progression has been awarded, for the other school to agree
similarly to pay the teacher on point 2 of the Upper Pay Scale. Any cases of
difficulty should be referred to the NUT Division or Regional Office. Once such
teachers have been placed on point 2 of the Upper Pay Scale, this becomes a
permanent entitlement and on movement to subsequent new permanent or temporary
posts, they are entitled to continue to be paid on point 2 of the Upper Pay
Scale.
Supply Teachers
Supply teachers who are employees of the LEA or a
foundation or voluntary aided school who have completed two years service on
point 1 of the Upper Pay Scale on 1 September 2002 are equally eligible for
progression. Their review should be undertaken by the school in which they have
most frequently worked over the past two years or by the LEA if working for a
central supply pool. Again, once such teachers have been placed on point 2 of
the Upper Pay Scale, this becomes a permanent entitlement and on movement to
subsequent supply engagements or new permanent or temporary posts, they are
entitled to continue to be paid on point 2 of the Upper Pay Scale.
Centrally Employed Teachers
Other centrally employed teachers should have their
position reviewed by the LEA as the relevant body for salary assessment
purposes. The criteria are the same as for teachers employed in schools.
Agency Teachers
Agency teachers who do not have contracts of
employment with the LEA or other maintained schools are regrettably not covered
by the provisions of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document. The
Union is continuing its efforts to assist these teachers and progress has been
made in a number of LEAs which should enable the teachers concerned to benefit
from the provisions of the Pay and Conditions document. In other areas their
pay continues to be determined by the supply agency. Advice may be sought on
these issues from NUT regional offices or, in Wales, the NUT Wales Office, NUT
Cymru.
ACTION BY NUT MEMBERS
The NUT is determined that all post?threshold
teachers should be treated fairly and equitably within the process of
performance review for the purposes of post?threshold progressions. This
guidance will protect members from unfair treatment. NUT members who have not
yet received information about the process should seek from their headteacher
answers to these questions:
o Has my salary assessment required by the Pay and
Conditions Document taken place?
o Will the criteria to be used match the above advice
from the NUT and from NAHT/SHA?
o When will the statement outlining my salary
assessment be available?
o When will I start to be paid my new salary?
Where members find that the arrangements in their
schools contradict the above advice, they should raise the issues with their
NUT representative. Representation at school level by members collectively or
individually may solve general problems. If representation at school level does
not lead to satisfactory outcomes, it is essential that the relevant NUT
regional office or, in Wales, the NUT Wales Office, NUT Cymru is contacted so
that steps outlined in the guidance above can be taken. Members whose personal
situations require individual and, perhaps, confidential advice, should contact
their NUT regional offices directly. In Wales, members should contact the NUT
Wales Office, NUT Cymru. This Guidance was first published on the NUT website,
18 October 2002. |
