This advice covers those school leaders who are subject to the school teachers’ pay and conditions document (STPCD) provisions regarding leadership group pay, whether they are head teachers, deputy head teachers or assistant head teachers, and those whose academies apply the STPCD arrangements to them.
It does not cover school leaders who are non-teachers. The term ‘leadership group teacher' is used here for convenience.
Pay progression – knowing the basics
In England all pay progression depends on appraisal outcomes, and meeting standards set by schools. In this regard, a thorough knowledge of how the pay progression system works and a fair and responsible discharge of leadership responsibilities are both crucial to ensuring successful application of the pay progression process and the protection of pay.
In Wales, performance-related pay has been abolished in favour of experienced-based pay progression, and national pay scales for Wales have been implemented. The advice below relates to the position in England where performance-related pay has not been abolished. Members in Wales should receive pay progression based on experience and should refer to the separate teacher pay arrangements in Wales.
School leaders’ pay – statutory provisions
The statutory provisions governing pay progression for all teachers, including school leaders, in local authority maintained schools are set out in the STPCD.
All pay progression is related to performance. Every school governing body must have a written pay policy which sets out the criteria and standards for pay progression.
The pay policy and the criteria and standards for progression are determined by the governing body but must be consistent with the STPCD’s provisions.
Governing bodies and head teachers of local authority maintained schools are required by law to comply with the STPCD’s provisions. Where academies have decided to adopt the STPCD’s provisions to determine teachers’ pay, as the majority have, contract law is likely to require these provisions to be followed in full when pay decisions are taken.
The STPCD sets out provisions on how to decide the appropriate level of pay, within overall upper and lower limits, but allows governing bodies substantial discretion on setting individuals’ pay ranges.
The NEU wants all governing bodies to continue to use the leadership pay structure set out in the STPCD prior to 2015, ie an overall 43-point pay spine on which all leadership group teachers are paid, a seven-point individual pay range for the head teacher, and a five-point individual pay range for deputy and assistant head teachers.
Responsibility for decisions on pay progression
Governing bodies are permitted to delegate pay decisions to a governing body committee, individual governors or the head teacher. The NEU advises that decisions in respect of all leadership group teachers should be taken by the governing body committee responsible for pay/staffing issues and reported to the full governing body. Decisions in respect of deputy and assistant head teachers should not be delegated to the head teacher alone.
Timetable for taking decisions and notifying teachers of decisions
The STPCD requires every governing body to carry out an annual pay determination for every teacher, including every leadership group teacher, with effect from 1 September. The governing body is required to notify all leadership group teachers of the outcome of pay decisions in writing at the earliest opportunity and no more than one month after the decision is taken. Any consequent pay increase is effective from the previous 1 September. While the STPCD does not contain any statutory deadline for taking pay decisions, many schools have retained the former statutory deadline of 31 October (31 December for head teachers). The NEU advises that all schools should take decisions by this date or as soon as practicable thereafter.
Setting the criteria and standards for standards for pay progression
Although the governing body sets the criteria and standards for leadership pay progression, these must be consistent with the provisions of the STPCD and must be clearly set out in the school’s pay policy.
Pay progression solely based on appraisal
The Department for Education (DfE) pay advice (Implementing your school’s approach to pay) argues firmly against unnecessary bureaucracy and in favour of taking pay decisions informed solely by appraisal.
The NEU advises that:
- the appraisal review should be the only source of evidence leadership group teachers require to support pay progression
- leadership group teachers should not be required to submit additional evidence but should be permitted to do so if they wish to draw attention to particular achievements which support pay progression.
‘No surprises' principle
The DfE’s pay advice states that “the relevant body should manage the appraisal process so that there are no surprises at the end of the appraisal cycle – throughout the appraisal cycle both the teacher and line manager should understand what objectives are in place, the evidence that will be used to assess performance and the criteria for a successful performance review”.
Whenever a reviewer or head teacher recommends denial of pay progression and the reviewee is not already aware that this is likely, there are obvious grounds for objecting to that recommendation and for appealing against any decision to deny progression.
Pay progression for leadership group teachers
The governing body should set out in the school pay policy the precise criteria and standards that will be used to determine decisions on pay progression for leadership group teachers. As with other teachers, the governing body is statutorily required to carry out an annual pay assessment and there is no requirement to apply for pay progression.
The NEU’s view is that pay progression for leadership group teachers should be agreed where teachers have met or made significant progress towards meeting their objectives – it is not necessary for all performance targets to be met in full. Leadership group teachers should be awarded pay progression following a successful appraisal review. Reviews should be deemed to be successful unless significant concerns about a teacher’s performance have been raised in writing with the teacher during the annual appraisal cycle and have not been sufficiently addressed through support provided by the school by the conclusion of that process.
The NEU seeks the inclusion of this provision in every school’s pay policy. Decisions should be subject to a whole school approach to pay policy. The NEU advises that any notification given to leadership group teachers that they have been denied progression should contain full reasons for this decision. Denial of this information would be an obstruction of the right of appeal.
Appeals
Regulations require an appeals procedure allowing teachers to appeal against appraisal statements and pay recommendations. The NEU supports the inclusion of such provisions in all pay procedures.
The STPCD also requires schools to have an appeals procedure in relation to pay decisions and the DfE’s pay advice includes a recommended appeals procedure which is endorsed by the NEU and other teaching unions. NEU members who have been informed that they will not progress will need to consider whether they wish to appeal and if so on what basis.
