Performance Management in Maintained Schools in England
Performance Management - Latest News
Although the Coalition Government has announced new arrangements for performance management and capability proceedings to take effect from September 2012, members should note that until then, the current performance management regulations remain in force and schools will be acting unlawfully if they fail to adhere to them.
Some local authorities and schools are seeking to review their performance management policies in anticipation of the changes the Coalition Government plans to introduce from September 2012. The vast majority of local authorities and schools are likely to be considering this issue during the Summer term and indeed the Department for Education (DfE) is advising them to consult before the start of the academic year 2012. The NASUWT has prepared a Model Performance Management Policy and Commentary for use by the Union’s Representatives and members as the basis for in-school discussions where schools seek to make changes to existing performance management arrangements.
It is important to remember that the NASUWT's current industrial action was organised in anticipation of these changes and to enable the Union to be in a position to resist these changes if and when the Government sought to make amendments to the 2006 Regulations, which were introduced with important provisions the Union secured as a result of Social Partnership. The NASUWT action short of strike action instructions are designed to retain the key important features of the 2006 Regulations and to protect members against adverse changes.
The fact that the Coalition Government has omitted from its new regulations the key features of the 2006 Regulations does not mean that these provisions cannot be retained. The only change is that they no longer are required by regulation.
NASUWT negotiators have been advised not to agree to any local authority or school policy which has provisions outwith the NASUWT Model Performance Management Policy and the national action short of strike action instructions. Even if the policy has all the features the Union might want there should be no agreement that any aspect of the NASUWT's action instructions would be varied or lifted.
The Union has issued a comparison of the 2006 and 2012 regulations (MS Word 94.5KB) and published a summary of the changes in the February 2012 edition of Teaching Today.
Performance Management Regulations 2006
The Education (School Teacher Performance Management) (England) Regulations 2006 (new window) introduced revised arrangements for performance management for teachers and headteachers in England effective from 1 September 2007.
The Rewards and Incentives Group (RIG), comprising the signatories to the January 2004 Agreement on Rewards and Incentives for Post-Threshold Teachers and Members of the Leadership Group, produced detailed Performance Management Guidance (new window) and a Model Performance Management policy for schools (new window).
RIG also produced a series of Performance management 'How to' guides (new window) on how to address the revised performance management arrangements for unattached teachers, how to address the link between performance management, school improvement and other school processes, how to address the effective preparation and support of reviewers, how to address issues of equality, fairness and diversity in the implementation of performance management and how to create the right environment for performance management as an inclusive process.
The NASUWT produced two practical guides to the 2006 performance management arrangements entitled:
- Performance Management for Teachers and Line Managers;
- Performance Management for Unattached teachers and Line Managers.
