Discretions applicable to teachers
The senior manager for the service will make fair and equitable decisions. The manager will follow the guidance of the STPCD. The following will apply:
Teaching staff
The salaries of qualified teachers are determined by:
- the point on the main or upper pay range determined through appointment or annual appraisal
- any teaching and learning responsibility payments
- any additional allowances held for recruitment and retention
- any additional allowances held for teaching children with special educational needs
- if the individual is entitled to a higher salary because of safeguarding
This excludes the leadership group and leading practitioners.
A salary review will take place on 1 September each year. We will issue a salary statement by 31 October. We may undertake reviews at other times during the year, but only if there is a need to do so.
We make the salary assessment under the following headings:
Teachers on the main pay range
We pay teachers on the six-point scale on the main pay range.
Experience (main pay range only) – we give pay progression after a successful performance and appraisal review. Reviews are successful unless concerns about performance have not been addressed through support provided by the service.
A year's service is a minimum of 26 weeks on a full or part-time basis during the academic year.
We may award extra pay progression due to excellent performance over the previous year.
Senior managers may withhold pay progression following unsatisfactory performance. We will inform the teacher of this in writing:
- before the end of the academic year
- before the manager makes a final decision
The senior manager may decide later to reinstate the pay progression if appropriate.
Experience outside the maintained sector is often relevant to pay appointments. Where a teacher has non-teaching experience, the senior manager will consider its value to the post. This will be on a case-by-case basis.
Moving from the main pay range to the upper pay range (UPR)
We pay teachers on the UPR on the three-point scale on the upper pay range.
Applications taking effect from 1 September must be made on or before 31 October of the same year. Applications must be in writing to the senior manager.
Eligible teachers who have been successful in the threshold assessment will move to the upper range. The assessment will include the two most recent performance management and appraisal reviews and is successful, where:
- the teacher is highly competent in all the elements of the teacher standards
- the teacher's achievements and contributions to the service are substantial and sustained. For example, this should be for a minimum of two years
Once on UPR, teachers can progress up the range based on two consecutive successful performance reviews. Meeting performance objectives will not lead to automatic movement up the pay range. Reviews are successful unless:
- we raise significant performance concerns in writing during the performance management and appraisal cycle, and
- any concerns have not been addressed through support provided by the school
Senior managers may freeze pay progression following poor performance. This will relate to the previous two years. In this case, we will inform the teacher in writing before the end of the academic year. This will be before the manager makes a final decision. The senior manager may later decide to reinstate the pay progression if appropriate.
The senior manager will give any such points from 1 September. This is usually once every two years, other than in exceptional circumstances. They will not give points by more than one at a time during a single annual salary review.
Leading practitioners
We will pay leading practitioners on the leading practitioner pay range.
Where the structure has leading practitioners, existing advanced skills and excellent teachers will be added to that pay range. This will be at a point or individual pay range which maintains as a minimum their existing pay.
Where there are fewer leading practitioner posts than existing AS teachers and excellent teachers, there might be a restructure. Advice is available from an HR adviser.
We base progression up the range on two consecutive, successful performance reviews. Meeting performance objectives will not lead to automatic movement up the pay range. Reviews are successful unless:
- we raise significant performance concerns in writing during the performance management and appraisal cycle, and
- any performance concerns have not been sufficiently addressed through support provided by the school