This much I know about...sharing our (proposed) new Teachers' Pay Policy

I have been a teacher of English for 24 years, a Headteacher for 9 years and, at the age of 48, this much I know about sharing our (proposed) new Teachers' Pay Policy. I publish this post in the spirit of collaboration. All our Governors and teachers have now seen the documents and we hope to ratify them on Tuesday at an extraordinary Full Governors’ meeting. You will find seven documents below:

  1. Our proposed Teachers’ Pay Policy Made Simple
  2. Performance Development (PD) Policy proposed version
  3. PD Blank Planning Document 2013-14 model with exemplars
  4. PD Blank  Review Document 2013-14 proposed version
  5. Huntington School Pay Policy 2013-14 proposed version
  6. Huntington Upper Pay Range Assessment Application Form 2013-14 proposed version
  7. Huntington School Threshold Application guidance 2013-14 proposed version

The thing is to begin with the Performance Development Policy – if you can get that right, the Pay Policy writes itself. The key principle is that teachers are being assessed against the Teachers’ Standards in their entirety. The annual objectives feed into the assessment of teachers against the Teachers’ Standards. We deliberately steered away from drawing up a grid of gradated performance against each Standard and sub-standard – that way madness lies, we thought. Every single member of the Working Party contributed to what is in these documents; after five meetings we feel the new policies are equitable, humane and aligned with the core values of our school: Respect; Honesty and Kindness. I hope the documents are helpful to fellow Governors and Heads who have yet to embark upon/complete the process of drafting their new Teachers' Pay Policy. John Tomsett, 13 July 2013