Why we should be concerned about Michael Gove’s plans… Defending our Pay Why we should be concerned about Michael Gove’s plans…

Correspondence from Gary Corban HR Manager, DALP “I will ensure that your members’ and staff employed in the academies views  are taken into account when shaping the pay policy which DALP will adopt.” 30th April 2013 This gives us a starting point from which to work, but…

10 worrying points about Gove’s policy: Fixed pay points on pay scales will be abolished Performance related pay will be introduced Length of service will NOT be linked to pay progression There will be an even closer link between appraisals and pay The threshold process will be changed Fixed term responsibility points (worth less than they are now) will be introduced

Women teachers will be at greatest risk Heads & Governors will waste an inordinate amount of time deciding/negotiating pay structures and pay rises each year A move to a new school WILL NOT guarantee you the same pay (or a pay rise) Teachers’ pay will only rise by 1% in 2013 Gove has said that this is only the FIRST STAGE of his planned reform of school teachers’ pay and conditions Women teachers will be at greatest risk

Thoughts from John Tomsett – Headteacher: Any new policy has to be cheap, if not cost-free; the new Teachers’ Pay Policy will allow schools to employ teachers more cheaply and supress pay progression. There has to be the political will to adopt the new policy; the public will be happy with the simple headline notion that only good teachers should receive pay increments. Any new policy has to be easy to implement; what could be easier than to let Headteachers and Governing Bodies make all the difficult decisions inherent in the implementation of the new Teachers’ Pay Policy?

In-school atmosphere… Performance-related pay could induce competitiveness right down to teacher-to-teacher level: “Why should I share my teaching resources with him if his students’ results improve and he will get a pay rise over me?” Trust and expertise work hand in hand to produce better results; not individuals working in isolation. Behaviour is shaped by groups much more than by individuals…if you want positive change, then get the group (staff body) to do the positive things that will achieve it.

The more you think about performance-related pay, the more the intricacies emerge… Who will want to teach the ‘lower’ sets? How will re-setting mid-year affect pay progression decisions? Timetabling difficulties mean you have to take on a Year 11 group in September – are you then held responsible for that group’s outcomes? Split groups – who claims success or rejects lack of success as their responsibility? Why should people earn more for teaching subjects hard to recruit for?

Most education experts agree that… Attempts to make judgements about pay progression completely objective verge on the impossible. Singling out teacher effectiveness as the variable solely responsible for student outcomes is a hugely complex business and way beyond the scope of even the best performance-related pay policy for teachers.

The future… Michael Gove’s proposals to dismantle the national pay structure are now a reality They are a huge threat to fairness and equality in teachers’ pay They will affect 100s and 1000s of teachers across the country Many headteachers will not want to change the pay structure in their school but OFSTED could require them to do so Even teachers at the top end of the pay scale are at risk because further changes are probable

Negotiation Skills The message… Tom Cruise shows us the importance of ‘securing your position’ before entering into a negotiation situation in this famous clip from Jerry Maguire: Negotiation Skills The message… Basically, as a staff body, we need to be clear about what we want from a DALP / National Academy pay policy.

With thanks to Liam Conway - NUT Notts Division Secretary What can we do? Make our views clear to the Headteacher, Governors, & DALP Exec Principal & HR Manager Demand that we are part of any discussions regarding the DALP pay policy Write to our MPs (model letters are on the NUT Website: http://www.teachers.org.uk/ Attend Pay Rallies With thanks to Liam Conway - NUT Notts Division Secretary