Teachers' Review Body (Hansard, 1 February 2000)

§ Mr. Blunkett

The 2000 report of the School Teachers' Review Body has been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. This is an historic pay round, centred on modernising the pay system for the entire teaching profession. I am grateful to the Chair and members of the Review Body for their important work.

I asked the School Teachers' Review Body to ensure that, in making its recommendations, six key considerations were taken into account: the strategy for modernising the teaching profession set out in the Green Paper "Teachers: meeting the challenge of change" (this strategy was similarly set out in the Green Paper "The BEST for Teaching and Learning in Wales); the need to minimise additional burden on head teachers and line managers, while ensuring effective implementation of the new arrangements to reward excellence in schools; specific items of non-pay expenditure for delivering a high quality education service should not be diverted to fund a pay settlement; firm three year plans for my Department's Expenditure Limit and for all local authorities set by the Comprehensive Spending Review, from which we must fund all service improvements and pay settlements, and similar constraints in Wales; the Government's inflation target, which requires responsibility in all pay settlements; the need for schools to recruit, retain and motivate sufficient teachers, deputy headteachers and headteachers of the required quality.

I have considered the report carefully against these considerations and am satisfied that they are met. I have decided to accept the Review Body's main recommendations. They are in line with the Government's prudent and disciplined approach to public spending and its commitment to deliver high quality public services and low inflation.

My proposals, which include minor modifications of the STRB recommendations where indicated, are as follows:

General Pay Increase with effect from 1 April 2000 the values of the pay spines for qualified classroom teachers, Advanced Skills Teachers, heads and deputies, and the pay scale for unqualified teachers, should be increased by 3.3 per cent; also with effect from 1 April 2000, London allowances other than the inner London Supplement should be increased by 3.3 per cent.

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Pay reform: classroom teachers The existing pay spine will be replaced by a new pay spine and an upper pay range:

Pay spine the pay spine will comprise nine full salary points (half points are to be abolished; teachers with a second class honours degree or better should be entitled to one point for qualifications, and the relevant body should have the discretion to award additional points on the pay spine for relevant experience outside teaching; teachers should receive a point on the pay spine for each year of service subject to the discretion of the relevant body to discount unsatisfactory service on the same basis as applies under the existing pay system; a teacher whose performance is exceptionally good in a particular year should, at the discretion of the relevant body, be awarded two points on the pay spine for that year of service; points awarded on the pay spine should become a permanent entitlement for the teacher concerned;

Upper pay range the upper pay range will comprise five salary points; teachers at the top of the pay spine who apply to cross the threshold to the new upper pay range and are assessed as meeting national performance standards being developed by the Government will be placed on the first point of that range, which will be £2,000 above point nine on the pay spine; further progression on the upper pay range will be at the discretion of the relevant body to recognise substantial and sustained performance and contribution to the school as a teacher. Points should not be awarded annually other than in exceptional circumstances, and normally at least two years should elapse between crossing the threshold and being awarded the next point above the threshold uplift. I propose that the first such points should be available in September 2002; once awarded, the first point on the upper pay range will be a consolidated addition to pay and transferable if the teacher moves to another school (the STRB will consider the status of subsequent pay points in their next report);

Management allowances the existing system of responsibility points will be replaced by a range of four management allowances; management allowances should be awarded at the discretion of the relevant body to teachers who undertake clearly defined and significant management tasks additional to their normal duties as classroom teachers. I will consult further on the way such management allowances should be defined in the light of information about the way responsibility points are used at present; management allowances may be awarded while a teacher is holding a particular post or on a short-term basis at the discretion of the relevant body;

Recruitment and retention allowances: the existing system of recruitment and retention points will be replaced by a range of three recruitment and retention allowances; the first or second allowance should be awarded at the discretion of the relevant body to teachers in schools generally; a third allowance could additionally be used in inner London, and in schools in special measures, to help ease particular recruitment and retention problems; the STRB has recommended that as an alternative to using recruitment and retention allowances as a normal salary enhancement in areas covered by the DfEE's "Excellence in Cities" initiative, the relevant body should also have discretion to use an annual allowance wholly or in part in the form of a lump sum payment subject to satisfactory completion of service in the year concerned. Where lump sums are paid they will not be covered by the normal presumption that teachers' pay and allowances are consolidated and pensionable. I have accepted this recommendation with the modification that the 500W recommended discretion should be available for use by all relevant bodies rather than just those in Excellence in Cities areas.

Special educational needs the existing system of special needs points will be replaced by two levels of allowance which should be awarded on the same basis as the existing points.

The reformed pay structure for qualified classroom teachers should be introduced on the following basis: the new structure will be introduced with effect from 1 September 2000, from which date the existing system should cease to exist; appropriate assimilation arrangements will be drawn up in consultation with interested parties, based on the principle that no teacher should be worse off unless there has been a change in relevant circumstances; discretionary points and the mandatory special needs point awarded under the existing system should normally be expected to be converted into an appropriate allowance under the new system, but half points and excellence points should be protected on an individual basis; and discretionary points and the mandatory special needs point awarded under the existing system should not be offset against the threshold uplift.

Advanced Skills Teachers The separate pay spine for Advanced Skills Teachers should be retained and their possible inclusion in strategic school leadership arrangements should be at the discretion of the governing body.

Leadership Group The relevant body, having determined the pay of the head, must determine the pay of other leadership group members with effect from 1 September 2000 on the following basis: the relevant body must determine an appropriate five point individual salary range on the leadership pay spine for each member of the group other than the head; salary ranges must be positioned between the individual school range adopted for the head and the salary level of teachers immediately below the leadership group. Assimilation must ensure that no one is worse off as a result of the introduction of the new arrangements; and subsequent movement within the individual salary range must reflect performance as for heads under the arrangements introduced with effect from 1 September 1999. The maxima for the range of points for each of the eight school groups for heads will be raised by two points, and the top of the pay spine extended accordingly, with effect from 1 September 2000. To provide relevant bodies with additional flexibility for the initial setting of pay ranges for leadership group members, the existing rule which restricts the circumstances under which a head's individual school range can be reopened must be waived temporarily. Acceptance of these recommendations is subject to two modifications: first, senior teachers and deputies joining the leadership group should normally assimilate to the nearest point above their existing salary, except where the relevant body judges a higher point is appropriate to ensure that the pay ranges at the school properly reflect the relative responsibilities of jobholders; and secondly, that at the point of assimilation deputies should be on a higher point on the leadership spine than senior teachers in the same school who are not deputies. I propose to consult on the basis that leadership group members who are not heads should have the same professional duties as deputy heads, save that those who are senior teachers rather than deputies should not be required to undertake the professional duties of the head in the head's absence.

Special School Heads With effect from 1 September 2000, the existing interim basis on which special schools are assigned to a school group for the purposes of determining the pay of the head will be replaced 501W by a new formula which links job weight with pupil numbers and teaching and non-teaching staff numbers. Once the school is assigned to a group, the pay arrangements for the head should be the same as for the head of mainstream schools. The group for hospital schools will be determined on an individual basis, but the pay arrangements must otherwise be the same as for schools generally.

School Performance Award scheme Governing bodies of schools in receipt of an award under the proposed School Performance Award scheme will be able to distribute some or all of it on the advice of the head in the form of non-consolidated, non-pensionable bonuses to staff.

Fast Track Teachers The STRB has recommended that teachers on proposed fast-track programmes should have an additional spine point up to the proposed performance threshold, and that such teachers should not be subject to the working time limits that apply to classroom teachers generally. I propose to accept this STRB recommendation with the modification that the additional spine point should be available only to newly qualified teachers who join the fast-track. Other serving teachers below the threshold who join the fast track will benefit from double jumping of experience points so should receive an extra point anyway.

Existing Pay Allowances and Safeguarding

Out of school learning The existing scope for relevant bodies to make discretionary payments to classroom teachers who participate in out-of-school activities will be maintained but heads, deputies, other leadership group teachers, Advanced Skills Teachers and fast-track teachers will not be eligible for such payments.

In-service training The existing scope for relevant bodies to make discretionary payments to teachers and deputy heads who undertake in-service training will be maintained and cover leadership group teachers other than the head but not fast-track teachers.

Acting duties The existing discretionary scope for relevant bodies to pay acting allowances to classroom teachers who are assigned and carry out the duties of a head or deputy, but who have not been appointed as acting heads or deputies, will be maintained and cover teachers who are assigned and carry out the duties of other leadership group members.

Social Priority Allowance and Inner London Supplement The existing basis for safeguarding residual entitlements to the SPA and ILS will be maintained.

1993 pay restructuring I will take account of residual entitlements arising from the 1993 restructuring of teachers' pay when consulting interested parties on the appropriate basis for assimilation to the proposed new pay structure from 1 September 2000.

General safeguarding I will also consult interested parties about the continued basis for general safeguarding with reference back to the STRB as appropriate.

Financial implications

The full cost of the settlement in 2000–01 will arise from the 3.3 per cent. increase in teachers' pay spines and allowances from 1 April 2000, and from the reforms of the qualified teachers' pay system and other changes consequent on previous restructuring which will come into effect from 1 September 2000. The cost of the April increase in 2000–01 will be £420 million in England and Wales. This will be affordable within the resources available to local authorities. In England, Education Standard Spending will rise by £1,103 million (5.4 per cent.) in 2000–01 compared with 1999–2000. Local authorities in England will also benefit in 2000–01 from increased spending power of £90 million resulting 502W from rescheduling of increased employers' contributions to teachers' pensions, and a general increase in Revenue Support Grant of £35 million. In addition to the allocation through the Revenue Support Grant, I have confirmed today that I have identified an additional £50 million from my Department's budget which will be available to schools in England, paid as a Special Grant to ensure that there are additional resources available to meet the challenging standards agenda and the new basic pay increase.

In Wales, following decisions by the National Assembly, local authorities will be able to increase spending on education by £75 million in 2000–01, compared with 1999–2000.

Additional specific funding will support the costs of the reform of the qualified teachers' pay system from September 2000. This will take the form of a new Special Grant in England and specific extra allocations to local authorities in Wales.

In the initial years of the new pay system, the Government will make additional funds available in England to support extra costs incurred by schools as follows: a Special Grant, established under section 88B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, which will fund fully the threshold salary uplift of £2,000 payable from September 2000 for every full-time-equivalent teacher moving to the upper pay range in the current year. There will be no quota on threshold successes. All eligible teachers who apply and are assessed as meeting the national standards will move to the upper pay range. This grant will operate until at least March 2002; a one-off payment of £2,000 from the same Special Grant for every full-time-equivalent classroom teacher appointed directly to the new leadership group in academic year 2000–01. This payment will help support the additional salary costs of teachers joining the leadership group; it will be for schools to decide on a case-by-case basis what pay point on the leadership pay spine would be appropriate taking into account the nature of the post. These payments will be available for academic year 2000–01 only. Thereafter, the additional resources will be included in the local authority funding system and schools' delegated budgets in the normal way.

In addition, the Government will in England make a specified amount of extra resource available for the same period of time as the threshold grant to support the costs to schools of high-performing heads, deputies and Advanced Skills Teachers progressing up their individual pay ranges from September 2000. This will help ensure that excellent achievement among these teachers is recognised and rewarded more consistently—an issue to which the Review Body has drawn attention in paragraph 147 of the current report. The DfEE will consult stakeholders on the operation of this funding, including the most appropriate mechanism for distributing these funds.

In Wales, funding for the pay consequences of teachers' pay restructuring will be made as additional increases to local authorities to enable them to meet the costs of the various elements. The National Assembly is providing an additional £14.5 million in 2000–01, bringing the overall increase in local authorities' spending power in 2000–01 to £91 million. The National Assembly has been consulting on the arrangements for distribution of those additional amounts.

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Taking account of this funding, the additional costs arising within Education Standard Spending from 1 September 2000 are estimated as £7.5 million in respect of the assimilation of classroom teachers to the new pay system and of restructuring the pay of special school heads. Other assimilation costs may arise depending on local decisions by schools; the Review Body is therefore unable to estimate the overall level of such costs.

Next Steps

I am grateful to the Review Body for recommending a general increase at a level which is fair and which can be implemented without staging. I hope teachers will welcome the fact that they will receive their pay increase in full on 1 April this year. I will now initiate consultation with the teacher associations, the employer organisations and other interested parties, as required under section 2(1) of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act 1991, before I make provision by order for teachers' pay and conditions in 2000–01.