By Richard Johnstone | 6 June 2014
Over half of teachers in English state schools support using pupils’ progress and results to determine whether they should receive a pay increase, a poll for the Sutton Trust has found.
The survey of 1,163 teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research found 55% of primary teachers and 52% of secondary teachers accepted that ‘considering the progress and results of pupils they teach’ should be one of the criteria used when deciding on incremental pay increases.
Performance-related pay was first introduced for experienced teachers in 2000, and the coalition government is now extending this to pay increases during the first five years of teaching, replacing length of service. Schools are required to revise their pay and appraisal policies to link pay progression to a teacher’s performance from September 2014.
Teachers were asked in the poll what criteria should be used to decide progression along the pay scale, and were allowed to select more than one answer.
The three criteria with the greatest support were: assessment by more senior staff, backed by 60% of teachers; assessment by the headteacher, supported by 54%; and consideration of pupil progress, selected by 53%.
However, nearly half of teachers (47%) favour keeping the old criterion, where teachers received pay increases based on length of service, provided their progress is satisfactory.
Sutton Trust chair Sir Peter Lampl said effective appraisal and pay policies could help improve the 450,000-strong teaching workforce in England’s schools.
‘This new polling shows a positive response by a majority of teachers to performance-related pay, based on senior staff assessment and pupil progress,’ he added.
‘Sutton Trust research has shown evidence from the UK and the US that there is a significant correlation between teacher evaluations and exam results. ‘However, the evidence also suggests that schools should rely on a combination of approaches to gain a fuller picture of teacher effectiveness, and that teachers should be assessed on their cumulative performance over several years rather than on the data from a single year.’
The National Union of Teachers said it was concerned about the impact performance-related pay would have on schools. Head teachers, under pressure the schools regulator Ofsted, could demand evidence of what teachers are doing on a daily basis, said general secretary Christine Blower.
‘Some 25,000 schools deciding their own pay structures is a real distraction from the teaching and learning that should be the focus of schools' work,’ she added.
‘While effective appraisal linked to professional development is useful – provided it encourages collaboration – this will not be achieved by the new pay system.’
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said the trust’s conclusions were misleading as it was based on a small proportion of teachers with multiple answers given to the question of how pay criteria should be set.
‘Even those who gave their view that pupil results should be one criterion for judging pay almost certainly believed that pupil results should be used in conjunction with length of service or peer assessment.
‘In fact, the poll indicates that more teachers opted for assessment by the head or a senior teacher to determine pay progression than opted for payment by pupil progress.’
