Bay Education Trust
Teachers’ Pay Policy
It is the responsibility of all Bay Education Trust employees and volunteers to familiarise themselves with the contents of all Trust policies and any amendments hereafter.
Policy history
1. Approved by BET board following consultation with the Trades Unions, March 2015
2. Amended due to change in BET governance structure September 2015 and following consultation with the unions via email.
VERSION / 1st amendmentAPPROVED / October 2015
REVIEW DATE / October 2016
SIGNED CHIEF EXECUTIVE / / PRINT M J English
NAME
SIGNED CHAIR OF TRUST BOARD / / PRINT S Livesey
NAME
Contents:
1. Introduction 3
2. Our overriding purpose 3
3. Delegation of powers for pay decisions 4
4. Leadership pay scale 5
5. Basic pay determination on appointment – classroom teachers 5
6. Pay review process 6
7. Evidence base for pay progression for classroom teachers 7
8. The main pay scale 8
9. Main pay scale progression 8
10. The upper pay scale 9
11. Progression through the upper pay scale 10
12. Leading practitioners 12
13. Progression through the leading practitioner phase 12
14. Teaching and learning responsibility payments 13
15. Unqualified teachers 14
16. Recruitment and retention allowances and incentives 14
17. Special needs allowance 14
18. Additional payments 14
19. Acting allowances 15
20. Salary sacrifice arrangements 15
21. Freedom of information act 15
22. Retention of records 15
23. Maternity 15
24. Sickness absence 16
25. Monitoring and evaluation 16
APPENDIX 1 Teachers’ Pay Ranges September 2015 17
1. Introduction
1.1 This policy sets out the framework of Bay Education Trust for all our schools to make decisions on teachers’ pay.
1.2 In preparing this policy we have considered the extracts from the Academies’ Finance Handbook at Appendix 1 and the extracts from Ofsted documentation at Appendix 2.
1.3 In this policy “school” means any of our schools, colleges or academies and “headteacher” means any headteacher or principal.
1.4 For the avoidance of doubt, teachers working on a part-time basis shall have the same opportunity to progress through the pay range as those working full-time.
2. Our overriding purpose
Our aim is for all teaching in all lessons by all teachers in all our schools to be good or outstanding to ensure the best possible education for all our students. This policy supports that aim by:
· supporting the recruitment and retention of a high quality teacher workforce
· recognising and rewarding teachers appropriately for their contribution to the school
· ensuring that decisions on pay are managed in a fair, just and transparent way
· focusing on the central importance of high quality teaching and learning, improving standards and making a positive impact on pupil progress and outcomes.
This policy refers to the Teachers’ Standards. As a reminder, Part I of the standards requires a teacher to:
1. Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
2. Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
3. Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
4. Plan and teach well-structured lessons
5. Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
6. Make accurate and productive use of assessment
7. Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
8. Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
Part II of the standards requires a teacher to:
· demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct
· uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by:
· treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position
· having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions
· showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others
· not undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
· ensuring that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law.
· having proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach, and maintain high standards in their own attendance and punctuality, in accordance with the Staff Code of Conduct.
· having an understanding of, and always acting within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities.
3. Delegation of powers for pay decisions
3.1 Decisions relating to pay awards shall be made in accordance with the chart below.
Role / Recommender / Decision maker/ reviewer / AppealThe school’s headteacher / Trust CEO / Trust board / Trust members
Other staff on the leadership pay scale & leading practitioners / School’s headteacher / Trust CEO / The Trust’s pay appeal panel
Upper pay scale / The school’s headteacher or a nominated member of the school’s leadership team / Trust CEO / The Trust’s pay appeal panel
Main Pay scale / Appraiser (with headteacher’s nominee if appropriate) / The headteacher together with two members of the local advisory group / The Trust’s pay appeal panel
Unqualified pay scale / Appraiser (with headteacher’s nominee if appropriate) / The headteacher together with two members of the local appraisal group / The Trust’s pay appeal panel
3.2 The headteacher may choose to involve members of the school’s leadership team or middle management in assessing evidence before making a recommendation. The headteacher will assess appropriate evidence before making a recommendation.
Pay appeal
3.4 The Trust board shall have a pay appeal panel of no more than three directors (none of whom shall be a headteacher working for the Trust).
3.5 A pay decision means any decision by a decision maker listed in the table at 3.1 to award a pay rise or to not award a pay rise in respect of an employee. It does not include a reference to a pay recommendation. In the event that an employee is dissatisfied with a pay decision they may request a review by the decision maker which will involve a personal hearing held within 10 working days of the original decision and at which the employee may make representations and may be accompanied by a co-worker or a trade union representative.
3.6 If the employee is dissatisfied with the pay decision after the review they may appeal within 5 working days of the review decision, in accordance with 3.1 above. An appeal hearing will be heard within 15 working days of the appeal. The employee may be accompanied by a co-worker or a trade union representative. The appeal decision is final.
4. Leadership pay spine
4.1 Appendix one includes the current salaries linked to the leadership pay spine.
4.2 Neither a new post on the leadership pay spine nor any vacant post on the leadership pay scale will be advertised without prior approval of the Trust board who shall set the appropriate range for the relevant role.
4.3 Progression on the leadership pay spine will follow Part 2 of the STPCD 2013 which requires that there will be no progression unless there has been sustained high quality performance judged against:
· Performance objectives
· Specific job description
· The Teachers’ Standards
Under no circumstances may more than two points be awarded and it is envisaged that an award of two points will be exceptional and will require detailed justification. The Trust will take into consideration the need to maintain appropriate differentials.
4.4 The provisions of the STPCD capping discretionary payments to headteachers shall apply.
4.5 TLRs and project bonuses may not be paid to employees on the leadership pay spine.
5. Basic pay determination on appointment – classroom teachers
5.1 Any vacant posts for classroom teachers will be advertised as being between the minimum of the main pay scale and the maximum of the upper pay scale.
5.2 On appointment the school’s headteacher will, in conjunction with any member of the local advisory group involved in the recruitment process, determine the starting salary to be offered to the successful candidate within those ranges and whose decision will be final.
5.3 In making such determinations, a range of factors may be considered including the following:
· The skills and experience the successful candidate brings to the role
· The current salary earned by the candidate.
· The requirements of the post
· Any specialist knowledge required for the post
· The experience required to undertake the specific duties of the post
· The wider school context
· The local labour market for teachers of particular subjects
· The candidate’s academic qualifications
· The candidate’s experience of teaching
· Any verified evidence of the candidate’s responsibility for improvement in pupil progress achievement or attainment or in modelling school improvement
5.4 We anticipate it will be a very rare occurrence to pay less than the candidate is currently earning, e.g. a member of staff not wishing to maintain UPR responsibilities and return to main pay scale.
5.5 Teachers employed on an on-going basis who work less than a full working week are deemed to be part-time. We will give them a written statement detailing their working time obligations and the standard mechanism used to determine their pay. This will be subject to the provisions of the statutory pay and working time arrangements and be by comparison with the school’s timetabled teaching week for a full-time teacher in an equivalent post. We shall follow the current STPCD guidance.
5.6 Teachers employed on a day-to-day or other short notice basis will be paid on a daily basis, calculated on the assumption that a full working year consists of 195 days. Periods of employment for less than a day will be calculated pro-rata.
6. Pay review process
6.1 All teachers can expect to receive regular, constructive feedback on their performance and are subject to annual appraisal that recognises their strengths, informs plans for their future development and helps to enhance their professional practice. The arrangements for teacher appraisal are set out in our Teacher Appraisal Policy. This policy may include career progression benchmarks and does include our expectation that all teachers will have an annual target for pupil progress.
6.2 Each school will ensure that each teacher’s salary is reviewed annually, with effect from 1 September and no later than 31 October each year, and that all teachers (including those on the leadership pay spine) are given a written statement setting out their salary and any other financial benefits to which they are entitled.
6.3 Where a pay determination leads or may lead to the start of a period of salary safeguarding, the school will give the required notification as soon as possible and no later than one month after the date of the determination.
6.4 Teachers in their induction year will be eligible for pay progression on the successful completion of induction.
7. Evidence base for pay progression for classroom teachers
7.1 In coming to make a pay recommendation in the teacher’s appraisal and in coming to make a decision on that recommendation or on an appeal in relation to that decision, a holistic consideration of all of the evidence below and sources of guidance will be given. The starting point for the review will be an assessment of performance against the relevant standards and achievement of the objectives. Any significant performance issues or concerns must be identified under the appraisal procedure and promptly addressed through support provided by the school. If no significant performance issues have previously been identified under the appraisal procedure then the starting point for the consideration of the pay recommendation is that the employee concerned has performed to the required standards, achieved the objectives and the review is successful. Throughout the process the appraiser should have due regard to the following evidence and any concerns raised, as stated above. The employee may decide to provide relevant evidence to support the pay recommendation:
Evidence
· The teacher’s self-review
· The appraiser’s mid-year, if it takes place, and final reviews
· Information from the line manager
· Data tracking student progress
· Lesson observations
· Learning walks
· Book reviews
· Work scrutiny
· Homework tracking
· Examination results
· Teacher’s attendance and punctuality record
· Any additional evidence supplied by the teacher.
Sources of guidance
· Job description for each role held by the teacher
· The Teachers’ Standards
· Relevant and current OFSTED grade descriptors
· The expectations of each role held by the teacher given the teacher’s length of time in the profession
· The expectations of a role on the upper pay scale.
7.2 Our appraisal process will include an appropriate mechanism to ensure that performance objectives and pay recommendations are moderated and that assessments of performance are fair and consistent.
7.3 Each school shall ensure that those making pay recommendations and decisions are trained, or experienced in such matters and have sufficient time to undertake the process.
7.4 We shall budget on the basis that all staff will progress one increment.
8. The main pay range
8.1 Appendix one includes the current salaries on the main pay scale.
8.2 The same figures shall be used for the main pay scale for any subsequent pay decisions, subject to any increase in the value of the points.
9. Main pay scale progression
Evidential expectation
9.1 As a teacher progresses through the main pay scale their objectives will naturally become more challenging and judgements will need to be based on secure evidence of:
a) Increasing quality of teaching and learning
b) An increasingly positive impact on student progress
c) An increasing impact on wider outcomes for pupils
d) Improvements in specific elements of practice identified in the appraisal process to the teacher
e) An increasing contribution to the work of the school
f) An increasing impact on the effectiveness of colleagues and staff.