Standard Members Newsletter Autumn 2024

Read as PDF (link)

Headlines:

“NEU members have voted in favour of accepting the Government's pay award of 5.5 per cent for all teachers and leaders in England. The snap poll of serving teacher members who work in state schools in England ran from 21-30 September. It asked one question: “Do you Accept or Reject the Government's 5.5 per cent pay offer?” 95% of members who responded to the snap poll voted to Accept the offer. Schools will receive an additional £1.2 billion to fund the pay rise. Our members should be proud of what they have achieved through a hard-fought campaign. They have accepted this year's pay deal, but the Government should be in no doubt that we see it as just a first step in the major pay correction needed.

Top Stories:

STRB

The Government has agreed with the School Teachers Review Board (STRB)’s recommendation to abolish performance related pay progression (PRP), but there still may be some caveats to this. This is a welcome move and something that we in Trafford NEU strongly believe in. However, this is not to say that appraisal is no longer a stressful process. Some schools in Trafford are moving towards a more holistic, more supportive appraisal system, but many schools are continuing for now with the judgemental system already in place and which was linked to capability by Michael Gove in 2013 (before that they were two completely separate processes).

Appraisal and Pay Progression

First of all, for non SLT teachers there should be three targets and no more. They should not be sub-divided, thus creating more than three targets. They should be SMART.

Make sure your objectives really are ‘SMART’.

Most school appraisal policies state that appraisal objectives should be ‘SMART’:

S: Specific means that objectives are clearly defined and understood by you and your appraiser. They identify the expected action/achievement/outcome in precise terms to help you both consider whether an objective has been achieved.

M: Measurable means you can decide whether the objective has been achieved using appropriate evidence.

A: Achievable means that the objectives are realistic and linked to factors within your control. Factors which might be beyond your control and impact on your ability to meet an objective could include changes to your class or promised training/support not being provided. Make sure to raise any particular individual circumstances, including any disabilities, or maternity/adoption leave, which might affect the achievement of your objectives. They should also include appropriate and sufficient training and support.

R: Relevant means that the objectives “take into account the professional aspirations of the teacher”.

T: Timed means that the objectives have a clear timetable for progress and achievement, with interim milestones where appropriate, to help you assess how you are progressing towards them. There should be a review half-way through the process.

The unwritten rule is There should be no surprises.

Do not agree objectives which do not meet these ‘SMART’ criteria.

Numerical Targets.

The National NEU advice is: Do not agree to your objectives being based on numerical target, increases in examinations or tests etc. unless you feel that their use is appropriate.

1. There should be an interim appraisal meeting half-way through the year to check on progress.
2. Check that the data the school has used is correct and correlates with your appraisal targets. 3. Dispute vague terms like substantial and reasonable.
4. Point out factors beyond your control, such as you have just taken over a particular class or students have been withdrawn, thereby skewing the results.
5. Dispute targets that have been imposed – they should be negotiated by both parties.
6. Challenge numerical targets.
7. Oppose any attempts to impose unachievable targets. The NEU operates on a belief that there should be no surprises.

Finally, there should be no more than three observations per year being no longer than one hour each. There may be certain exceptions, for example, ECT, intervention, ITT, formal capability.

If you need any advice or help in your school with any of the above, please contact the NEU Adviceline on 0345 811 8111, or email traffordbranch@neu.org.uk for confidential advice and support. Thank you for reading.