Teachers doubt introduction of performance-related pay systems, poll finds

EB News: 16/11/2015 - 11:32

The regulations instruct that teacher’ pay rises should be awarded according to their performance, as opposed to time served. The PRP system was introduced in September 2013 and advises that teachers’ pay should only progress if targets set by schools are met.

The YouGov poll found that while 31 per cent say their school has not introduced the requirement, 17 per cent admitted they ‘don’t know’ whether it has.

The poll included the responses of 758 teachers, 52 per cent of which confirmed their school had a PRP system in place.

However, unions have responded by arguing that the poll’s findings may in fact reflect teachers’ lack of knowledge about the school’s system of pay, rather than whether PRP has been introduced.

Sara Ford, a pay specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders, contended it was unlikely that any school would not implement PRP. She said that not only was PRP statutory but ‘Ofsted now expects schools to identify between low and high performers in their budget’.

The poll revealed a significant discrepancy between head teachers and classroom teachers. Figure showed that 98 per cent of head teachers believed the PRP system had been introduced, while only 42 per cent of classroom teachers gave the same response.