© Ethical Training and Consultancy 2009

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Site Updated: Monday 3rd October 2011

The ETC Training Brochure can now be downloaded from the Events page.

New SEF related Job Descriptions:

•	Learning Support Assistant
•	Cover Supervisor
•	Post-Induction Teacher
•	Headteacher

Job Descripton for PA to Headteacher

Sample Performance Review Statement pro forma

Planning Statement – Latest Version

Successful Schools, Successful Teachers ('The Wiring Diagram') - New Version

Threshold 2009-10 Round 10

Planning Statement/Objective for Headteachers

PM Guidance Notes for Reviewees and Reviewers

Jan, Ian, Pete and Liz have just returned from our October visit.

We focussed our attention on the resource room and ensuring the children who join mainstream classes are integrated; currently they are not allowed to sit in maths, physics and chemistry lessons as these are deemed inappropriate subjects for blind students! 

As the budget allows each child just 30p per day for food and clothing there is no funding for uniforms so the blind school students are the only children in the school with no uniform.

The Makelle Blind School is now a registered charity and we are arranging for volunteers to visit every few months.  To find out more about our most recent work, including details of our summer visit and work on the playground,please visit our website at www.sene.org.uk.

Professional Standards for Teachers
www.tda.gov.uk/standards

National Standards for School Leadership
www.ncsl.org.uk

Children's Workforce Development Council
www.cwdcouncil.org.uk

National College for School Leadership
www.ncsl.org.uk

The DCSF Standards Site
www.standards.dfes.gov.uk

Performance Management Guidance
www.teachernet.gov.uk

Threshold 2008-09 Application Forms/Guidance
www.teachernet.gov.uk

School Teacher Pay and Conditions 2009 and STRB Report
www.teachernet.gov.uk

Pay Scales
www.teachernet.gov.uk

National Occupational Standards for Supporting Teaching and Learning
www.tda.gov.uk

Local Government Employers (SSSNB)
www.lge.gov.uk

Department for International Development
www.dfid.gov.uk

Voluntary Service Overseas
www.vso.org.uk

The 2006 Performance Management Regulations require that “a reviewee’s objectives be determined having regard to the reviewee’s job description”.

Only on very rare occasions has any teacher claimed that either they or their reviewer accessed their job description when agreeing objectives.

Why?

Because for many teachers the job description is a list of tasks describing the job for the purposes of recruitment.

The latest job description explicitly separates the recruitment function from the performance function.

Part 1: Recruitment - sets out the core requirements of the post and addresses:

• The School Vision
• The current School Improvement Plan priorities
• Values and behavior required of employees
• Personal and professional conduct standards
• Responsibilities and duties

Part 2: Performance Criteria - relates directly to the relevant Teacher Standards and Ofsted priorities and sets out the criteria by which a teacher’s performance will be assessed through performance management:

• The achievement of pupils
• The quality of teaching
• Behaviour and safety
• Leadership and management

I recommend the following generic job descriptions for teaching staff:

• NQT
• Post Induction Teacher
• Pre Threshold Teacher
• Post Threshold (UPS1) Teacher
• Post Threshold (UPS2) Teacher
• Post Threshold (UPS 3) Teacher
• TLR1
• TLR2
• Excellent Teacher
• Advanced Skills Teacher
• Assistant Headteacher
• Deputy Headteacher
• Headteacher

An example of a Post-Induction Job description can be downloaded here. Others may be available on request.

In July the government accepted new Professional Standards which will be in place for September 2012. In effect there are eight new standards which replace the QTS and core standards for teaching. In addition there is a preamble that sets out the values and behaviour to be met by all teachers and three immutable statements about personal and professional conduct.

The Standards are a huge improvement on the 41 core and 33 QTS standards, they are far more manageable to performance management and replace the unnecessary distinction between QTS and Core.

Two comments:

1. The review recommends that the standards should form a baseline of practice expected of all qualified teachers regardless of the point they have reached in their career. Every school will make a judgement about the level of practice a teacher should be demonstrating. In my view to be fair and transparent schools should find ways of describing the different requirements in practice between a MPG1 and an MPG6 teacher. This in my view is best done through the use of post-induction and pre-threshold job descriptions. Only those teachers who have demonstrated sufficient levels of competency should be progressed to the pre-threshold job description and supported to prepare for post-threshold status.
   
   
2. The theme of the 2010 White Paper is the importance of the quality of teaching. The Barber and Mourshed book, How the world’s best-performing schools systems come out on top makes reference to a now much quoted seminal piece of research from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System which found that the two most important factors impacting on student achievement to be differences in teacher effectiveness and the prior achievement level of the student. In our work over the past fifteen years we have been arguing that these should constitute the two performance management objectives. I would like to have seen the standards separated into three categories: those relating to supporting pupil progress, those relating to the quality of teaching and those relating to leadership and management. I have drafted revised job descriptions for post-induction and pre-threshold teachers incorporating and categorising the standards. Please contact me if you would like a copy.

We await publication (due September 2011) of revised PM regulations.

The proposed changes will make it easier for schools to manage teachers and deal effectively with the small number of poorly performing teachers. They will:

• introduce simpler performance management regulations, which set a few basic requirements, remove many restrictions (including the so-called “three hour observation rule”), and leave other decisions to schools
• introduce an optional new model policy for schools that deals with both performance and capability/disciplinary issues
• allow poorly performing teachers to be removed in about a term, a process that now often takes a year or more
• clarify that staff illness need not bring disciplinary processes to a halt
• scrap about 60 pages of unnecessary guidance.

As soon as they become available we will publish, review and identify where changes may need to be made in existing pay, CPD and performance management policies.

The 2011 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document has been published on the Department for Education web site.
 
There are some minor changes this year. We expect that following the revised performance management regulations and the new teachers’ standards there will be significant changes for 2012.

Schools may consider this to be an ideal time to review their staffing structure.
The White Paper and the imperative of delivering high quality teachers and teaching may require schools to review whether their existing staffing structure is delivering or is past its best.  A school staffing structure ought to be directly related to a School Development Plan. All posts should be able to link their duties and responsibilities directly to the SDP.

Key drivers for change:

• Raising standards and delivering improved learning outcomes for all children.
• Raising the quality of teaching and delivering effective management of performance.
• Cost and added value.
• Growth in support staff.
• Recruitment and retention of the most successful teachers.

Changes you might consider:

• Removal of TLR posts - TLR positions are not performance related and create significant differentials between the highest paid teacher and the leadership spine. Removal of TLRs opens up L1 – L5 salary ranges.
• Expanded leadership groups with whole school responsibilities such as Inclusion, Assessment, Leader of learning, Leader of Teaching, Curriculum.
• Payment of additional increment for excellent performance for teachers on MPG.
• Implementation of Excellent Teacher and AST posts as leaders of pedagogy.
• Use of Advanced Teacher posts and pay spine.
• Establish performance management for support staff.
• Implement a career and work life balance policy.

ETC has been working with schools reviewing staffing structures since 2006. We have produced innovative and cost saving solutions. If you want to find out more contact Jean Hemsley on 07956 640196 or email jean.hemsley@ethicaltraining.com

Last year we introduced the concept of job descriptions linked to standards and career progression.  Many headteachers have asked for job descriptions that set out the different expectations of a UPS 1, 2 and 3 teacher.

We have now produced a set of expectations for each level linked to the SEF headings. Click here to download.

We have also incorporated them into revised job descriptions. For copies, e-mail Jean Hemsley on jean.hemsley@ethicaltraining.com

We now have more than 100 job descriptions for support staff. All are written to the latest SEF headings and all are linked to the relevant national occupational standards for supporting teaching and learning.

Example policies for both support staff and teaching staff together with guidance advice are available from ETC and some can be downloaded from the Performance Management page of this site.

Job description, wherever possible, should be linked to the appropriate national standards. The standards provide the framework career progression. As a member of staff progresses to higher standards these new competencies should be contained within the job description.

ETC has now produced a wide range of job descriptions for teaching and support staff. Some are available to download from this site on the Performance Management page; others can be requested by e-mailing jean.hemsley@ethicaltraining.com.

Sound objectives are essential together with clear timescales and regular feedback. Many schools have reported problems with consistency of practice. We recommend tight management and monitoring of reviewers together with a substantial training and induction programme.

ETC recommends as long a lead time as possible for introducing  new policies, systems and procedures. A plan for the 2010/2011 academic year is available to download here.

The new Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) will simplify and incorporate the existing NVQ qualifications. These qualifications will eventually need to be set against a job in terms of the qualification level needed. CPD for support staff will increasingly link to the relevant qualifications and credits. 

Please contact us if you would like a CPD policy for support staff including the national occupational standards, the QCF, the career development framework, the common core of skills and knowledge for the children’s workforce and a common induction programme.

Your staffing structure is crucial to the effectiveness of  PM. Revision of policy, practice and procedures will be a waste of time and effort unless the underlying values and attitudes that drive reviewers behaviour are addressed as well. These behaviours are wedded to the structure. So for any change in PM to be fully effective it needs to be underpinned by a staffing structure that can deliver it.  It may be time to create a structure that mirrors the core process of the school the learners, the teachers and the leaders.

If you would like to find out more on the work we have undertaken please contact Ian Draper or Jean Hemsley.

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) came in to being on 1st October.

The SSSNB will be responsible for setting up and implementing a framework for negotiations on the pay and conditions of service for school support staff in maintained schools. This almost certainly will lead to changes in the conditions and pay for support staff in schools and will, in turn, lead to changes in performance management procedures and job descriptions that incorporate the relevant national occupational standards.

Click here to view the latest information from SSSNB.

The latest version of the ETC Performance Management Policy is written for both teaching and support staff (a copy can be downloaded from the policy section on the Performance Management page). In addition to the work of the SSSNB, National Occupational Standards for Support Staff have been written (See 'Priority Links' [left] for links to the NOS for Classroom and Teaching Assistants) and ETC has produced job descriptions for all support staff that link the competencies from the Standards with the priorities of the School Improvement Plan. These provide the basis for an effective performance management model for support staff.  Exemplar job descriptions can be downloaded from the Performance Management page.

ETC’s new programme of training events for 2010-11 can now be downloaded as a single document from the Events page.

If you have a query relating to any of the subjects covered on this website, please e-mail jean.hemsley@ethicaltraining.com and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

If you would like to discuss how we might work with you or how you might work with us, you can find our contact details here.

 

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