§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the occasions since 1979 when he and the management committee of Burnham have entered negotiations or sought to enter negotiations with teachers' representatives about a more definitive contract of employment for teachers, and how teachers' representatives reacted on each occasion.
§ Sir Keith JosephIn February 1979 the local authority employers and the teacher unions set up a conditions of service working party under the auspices of the CLEA-ST committee. It reported in December 1980 that it had not succeeded in agreeing proposals for a new contract.
In March 1981 the management panel proposed in the Burnham committee a joint working party on salary structure. The teachers' panel agreed to this. The work of the joint working party lasted for some three years and in 430W practice covered the structure of jobs as well as the structure of pay. It culminated in the proposal by the local authority employers in November 1984 of a new salary structure and an identification of the contractual duties and responsibilities of each post. This fell in December 1984 when the NUT majority on the teachers' panel walked out of the discussions. Representatives of the other teaching unions emphasised that in their view the proposals, though not acceptable, were worth discussing in detail.
In September 1985 the management panel made an offer in the Burnham committee which included a contractual definition of teachers' duties. That offer was unanimously rejected by the teachers' panel after the briefest consideration.
In January 1986 the management panel entered talks at ACAS which resulted in the signing of an agreement with five teaching unions. The agreement committed the parties to it to negotiate constructively and expeditiously on, amongst other things, a clear definition of the contractual duties and responsibilities (including defined limitations) of teachers and their employers. The NUT refused to sign the agreement and has maintained that stance. Talks are proceeding between the management panel and the signatory unions under an independent panel appointed by ACAS.
Officials of my Department are members of the management panel of the Burnham committee. I have not sought to enter separate negotiations about a contract of employment with the teaching unions whose members are not my employees.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the occasions since 1979 when he and the management committee of Burnham have entered negotiations, or sought to enter negotiations, with teachers' representatives about a more formalised system of appraisal for teachers, and how teachers' representatives reacted on each occasion.
§ Sir Keith JosephAppraisal was on the agenda of the Burnham joint working party on salary structure which met from 1981 to 1984. The work of this group, including proposals relating to appraisal, fell in December 1984 when the NUT majority on the teachers' side walked out of the discussions. The Burnham management panel's offer of 12 September 1985 included a contractual definition of teachers' duties which incorporated appraisal of performance. This offer was unanimously rejected by the teachers' panel after the briefest consideration. In January 1986 the management panel entered talks at ACAS which resulted in the signing of an agreement with five teaching unions. The agreement committed the parties to negotiate constructively and expeditiously on, amongst other things, arrangements for appraisal and training to ensure that teachers at all levels remain properly equipped for their tasks and to assist towards teachers' career development and fair selection for posts carrying leadership responsibilities. The NUT refused to sign the agreement and has maintained that stance. Talks are proceeding between the management panel and the signatory unions under an independent panel appointed by ACAS. Officials of my Department are members of the management panel of the Burnham committee. I have not sought to enter separate negotiations about a more formalised system of appraisal for teachers with the teaching unions, whose members are not my employees, 431W but on a number of occasions I have discussed with teachers' representatives the Government's policy on appraisal.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the total cost of teachers' salaries in England and Wales, including national insurance and superannuation contributions, each year since 1975, in money terms, real terms as measured against the retail prices index and as a percentage annual change in real terms.
Total cost of teachers' salaries in England 1 including National Insurance and Superannuation contributions £000s money terms Financial year average, RPI 1975–76=100 Real terms measured against RPI £000s Percentage change real terms 1975–76 1,919,340 100.0 1,919,340 — 1976–77 2,162,772 115.3 1,875,778 -2.3 1977–78 2,322,616 131.4 1,767,592 -5.7 1978–79 2,578,658 142.3 1,812,128 +2.5 1979–80 2,915,449 164.8 1,769,083 -2.3 1980–81 3,686,315 191.7 1,922,960 +8.7 1981–82 4,083,697 213.7 1,910,947 -0.6 1982–83 4,313,931 228.9 1,884,636 -1.4 1983–84 4,497,610 239.5 1,877,916 -0.4 1984–85 4,674,202 251.6 1,857,791 -1.0 Notes:
1. Figures for Wales are not included. These are available from the Welsh Office.
2. The RPI deregulator is a monthly average over the financial year.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he considers that teachers should have a more definitive contract of employment.
§ Sir Keith JosephI believe that, if there is to be improved performance and quality in the schools, it is vital that teachers should know what is expected of them. Teachers' employers and indeed society as a whole should know what they can reasonably expect of teachers.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he considers that teachers should be subject to a more formalised system of appraisal.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe Government's view of the need for appraisal was set out in "Better Schools" in March 1985
The regular and formal appraisal of the performance of all teachers is necessary if local education authorities are to have the reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information necessary for the systematic and effective provision of professional support and development and the deployment of staff to best advantage.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the content and nature of the more definitive contract of employment for teachers which he is seeking.
§ Sir Keith JosephA statement of the Government's provisional view on the duties which should form part of teachers' contractual responsibilities was appended to my letter of 21 May 1985 to Councillor Merridale, which was published in my reply to the hon. Members for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh), for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist), for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock), for Warwickshire, North (Mr. Maude), for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt), and for Newport, East (Mr. Hughes) on 22 May 1985, at columns 446–48. The Government have since accepted that midday supervision should not form part of teachers' duties under their main contract of employment.
432W
§ Sir Keith JosephThe table shows the total cost of teachers' salaries in England, including national insurance and superannuation contributions, in each year since 1975 in money terms and in real terms as measured against the retail prices index, together with the annual percentage change in real terms.
The figures represent the cost of the salaries of teachers in primary and secondary (excluding special) schools. London weighting is included and social priority and special school allowances excluded.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the detail and implementation of the more formalised system of appraisal for teachers which he is seeking.
§ Sir Keith JosephI set out the sorts of arrangements which I have in mind for operating systematic appraisal of teachers' performance in a speech to an Industrial Society Conference on 14 April 1986. I shall send my hon. Friend a copy of that speech.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the implications of changes in the tasks confronting teachers over the past 10 years; and what proposals he has to help teachers to cope with such changing circumstances.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe White Paper "Better Schools" (Cmnd. 9469) published in March 1985 dealt with the implications of such changes and in particularly with improving the match between teachers' qualifications and their teaching programme, through more rigorous requirements for initial teacher training including the selection of students, the academic and professional content of their courses and school experience; through more systematic provision of in-service training expressly designed to meet the needs of schools and teachers; through appraisal of the performance of all teachers so that LEAs may make systematic and effective provision for professional support and development; through associating parents and the community served by schools more closely in the work of teachers; and through making the work of local advisers more effective.