HC Deb 21 February 2000 vol 344 cc695-8W
Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has in respect of the level of resources to be made available to individual schools for threshold payments under the proposed performance-related pay scheme for teachers. [111024]

Ms Estelle Morris

For an initial period starting in September 2000, the Government will establish a Special Grant to target resources for the performance threshold additional to and separate from schools' delegated budgets. Schools will be able to draw additional funds from this grant via their local education authority for the salary uplift of each teacher promoted to the upper pay spine. There will be no quota on threshold successes.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what arrangements he has put in place in respect of the proposals for teachers' performance related pay in the event that the teachers' association reject the proposals. [111040]

Ms Estelle Morris

Since our proposals for reforming teachers' pay and conditions were published in the Green Paper "Teachers: meeting the challenge of change" (Cm4164), in December 1998, we have consulted

funds, (b) the National Grid for Learning, (c) literacy programmes, (d) numeracy programmes, (e) books for schools, (f) truancy and behaviour initiatives, (g) school security, (h) improving school effectiveness, (i) the Excellence in Cities initiative, (j) New Deal for Schools, (k) voluntary aided schools capital grant, (l) energy efficiency, (m) education S.S.A. and (n) music programmes. [111029]

Ms Estelle Morris

The figures requested are shown in the following table. For Standards Fund grants, the figures include both the Government's and Bradford Local Education Authority's contributions where appropriate. The figures shown for Education Standard Spending Assessment also include provision for the Authority's contribution to the Standards Fund.

extensively with the teacher unions and other key stakeholders on the best way to take our proposals forward.

One of the main elements of the proposals is the introduction of a performance threshold for classroom teachers. It will be for each individual teacher to decide whether to apply for the threshold as he/she becomes eligible—application will be entirely voluntary. Teachers who are successful will receive a pay rise of £2,000.

Following publication of the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) report on 1 February 2000, two of the teaching unions—NAHT and ATL—have indicated their support for the latest proposals. The NUT has indicated that it will not try to prevent members from applying to cross the threshold.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to allow the contribution of private tuition to be taken into account when judging pupil performance as part of his proposals for teacher's performance-related pay. [111023]

Ms Estelle Morris

In considering applications to cross the performance threshold, headteachers will need to make a professional judgment on whether the progress made by a teacher's pupils is as good as would be expected from local and national context of the school. In reaching a judgment, we would expect headteachers to think about the evidence presented by the teacher against the pupil progress standard, particularly whether the evidence is representative of the range of the teacher's work and whether it demonstrates care and attention to all pupils.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he will issue with the introduction of performance-related pay for teachers to ensure a commitment to equal opportunities regardless of age, disabilities, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religion and sexual orientation. [110997]

Ms Estelle Morris

We will be enforcing our commitment to equal opportunities through the package of performance threshold materials we will be publishing for schools and others towards the end of March and through the working code of conduct for the external assessors. We will be asking all applicants to cross the performance threshold to complete an equal opportunities questionnaire to enable us to monitor the profile of those applying for threshold assessment and the outcomes.

A copy of the draft materials has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to ensure that proposals for performance-related pay do not discriminate against(a) female and (b) ethnic minority teachers. [110998]

Ms Estelle Morris

The Department for Education and Employment is committed to pursuing equal opportunities. It has taken a series of steps to ensure that the proposals to establish a new upper pay range do not discriminate on any grounds. The Department has consulted and is continuing to consult widely in drawing up the proposals. The performance assessment is designed to be accessible by part-time as well as full-time teachers. The external assessors deployed to verify the assessments made by Headteachers will receive training in equal opportunities issues and will work to a code of conduct which includes a commitment to pursuing equal opportunities. The Department has ensured that the contractor responsible for deploying the external assessors is committed to pursuing equal opportunities. Their activities will be quality assured internally and by the Department. Applications made by teachers for threshold assessment will be monitored for equal opportunities implications.

Average size of classes taught by one teacher in maintained primary schools by area and by key stage in England—January 1999
Urban/Rural classification Key stage 1 Key stage 2 Key stage 3 Mixed key stage Overall
Metropolitan 26.7 28.1 25.4 26.0 27.4
Urban 26.8 28.5 26.0 26.2 27.7
Coalfield1 26.3 29.0 2 26.8 27.7
Accessible rural 26.2 28.7 26.4 25.9 27.5
Remote rural 25.3 28.3 24.8 24.7 26.7
All areas 26.5 28.4 25.9 25.7 27.5
1 Coalfield is wholly classified as a Rural category
2 No classes of this type

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what safeguards he will put in place to ensure that a previous dispute between a headteacher and a teacher does not affect a decision on whether to recommend the teacher for progress through the performance pay threshold. [111043]

Ms Estelle Morris

Headteachers will be responsible for the assessments of teachers in their schools. Assessments will be made against national standards. Trained accredited external assessors will visit every school to verify headteachers' assessments on a sampling basis in order to ensure national consistency and the rigorous application of the standards.