TEACHERS look set to lose their annual pay rises.
Instead salary levels will be based on performance, which will be evaluated at yearly appraisals.
The plans, which will effectively spell the end of national pay structures, were revealed yesterday by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement. Minimum and maximum pay levels will, however, remain.
The scheme is due to start in September 2013 and has been proposed by the School Teachers Review Body (STRB). It recommends giving greater freedom to individual schools to set performance-related salaries.
The proposals cover pay for classroom teachers in England and Wales, and do not include school leaders such as headteachers and deputy or assistant heads. Education Secretary Michael Gove will set out how the scheme will be implemented.
Teaching unions have previously vowed to campaign against any attempt to remove national pay structures, arguing that such a move would cut teachers’ salaries and leave some schools, especially in deprived areas, struggling to recruit top staff.
Academies operate outside local authority control and already set their own rates of pay. In reality, most academy teachers’ pay is similar to national pay scales, except for principals and vice-principals, some of whom command super-sized salaries.
