25 February 2005
Thousands of teachers face a pay cut after the government backed proposed reforms to the educational pay structure, union officials claimed this week.
Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said plans to reward some teachers with more pay for extra work would not only prove divisive but also failed to meet the needs of schools.
The proposals were published in the School Teachers' Review Body's annual report on February 22. It recommended that management allowances for work such as co-ordinating the curriculum or being a year tutor be replaced with a new set of payments called 'teaching and learning responsibility payments'.
Although the move is designed to allow teachers to qualify for extra payments for more work in the classroom, the NUT fears that the government may try to get many of the tasks done 'on the cheap'.
'Thousands of teachers face a pay cut and loss of status as a result of the government's introduction of teaching and learning responsibility payments,' said Sinnott. 'Those teachers are currently in receipt of management allowances, which are to disappear under this new scheme. The change will also create unnecessary upheaval in schools.'
The union also criticised plans for the introduction of the Excellent Teachers Scheme from September 2006. This aims to reward the best teachers who choose to stay in the classroom rather than take on management positions.
Other unions, however, backed the proposals. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said it provided, for 'the first time', a framework for a new pay and rewards structure.
Chris Keates, the general secretary of the National Association of School Masters/Union of Women Teachers, said the proposals gave teachers 'a clear choice of career pathways, all of which lead to higher salaries'.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly said: 'The changes provide an opportunity for schools to organise their teaching and learning responsibilities in a new way'.
PFfeb2005
