§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of difficulties experienced by schools in going from Threshold 1 to Threshold 2; and if she will make a statement. [33055]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 4 February 2002]: Crossing the performance threshold promotes a teacher to point 1 of the upper pay scale. Further progress is by discretionary performance points recommended by heads and awarded by governing bodies. Teachers on point 1 since September 2000 will first become eligible for a performance point from September 2002. To make best use of these points, heads and governors will need to distinguish the most effective teachers from those who are doing a satisfactory job. I recognise that these decisions will sometimes be difficult, but I believe that heads and governors are fully capable of making them.