Appraisal and accountability bargaining toolkit

Foreword

For too long, education reforms driven by successive governments have subjected teachers in the UK to an accountability regime unlike anything seen in comparable countries or professions. The scrutiny imposed on educators has grown heavier with each passing year. What should have been a system designed to help educators thrive has instead become, in far too many schools, a mechanism to suppress pay, increase workload, and drive dedicated educators out of the profession.

The ending of mandatory performance-related pay (PRP) for teachers marks an important first step in dismantling this damaging framework. It gives us the chance to reclaim a measure of professional autonomy and to reshape appraisal into what it should always have been: a constructive, developmental process that puts the needs of students and educators at its heart.

Workload remains one of the most pressing issues in education. It is exhausting our members and fuelling a recruitment and retention crisis that threatens the future of the profession. This term, our bargaining calendar will continue to focus on the in-school accountability practices that contribute to excessive workload and undermine educator wellbeing.

These challenges can only be met by strong, organised NEU groups in every workplace. Effective workplace organisation and meaningful national change are inseparable. 

To tackle these obstacles, we need practical tools and collective action. This appraisal and accountability bargaining toolkit - also available on the NEU website - is designed to support members to take proactive, confident steps in negotiating better policies. It offers practical guidance and resources to help secure the reforms we need: reducing workload, strengthening professional development, and ensuring educators are trusted to do their jobs.

Reasserting professional autonomy is not only vital for those currently working in schools; it is central to creating the conditions that will attract and retain the educators who will shape the future of education. Together, through collective action and determination, we can build a system rooted in support, trust, and professional respect. 

Daniel Kebede

General secretary, National Education Union