Performance management is not about sacking teachers

ASCL welcomes the performance management model policy put forward by the government today but stressed that the emphasis in schools and colleges is on helping teachers to improve.

ASCL General Secretary Brian Lightman said:

“ASCL welcomes the clarity of the new teacher appraisal and capability model policy and we hope it will be adopted by governing bodies in maintained schools and academies across England. One of its strengths is the way it clearly separates the appraisal process from formal capability procedure. The policy helpfully clarifies the role of lesson observation for the purposes of appraisal and the use of drop-in observations to evaluate standards of teaching and professional performance. We are also pleased to see the retention of an experienced external adviser for the appraisal of headteachers.

Performance management is about enabling all teachers and school leaders, including the very best, to develop further and achieve the highest professional standards. It allows areas for improvement to be regularly identified and support to be provided to address them. It is not about sacking teachers. Capability procedures should be a last resort after all other support has been tried. However, where all support has been exhausted and capability procedures are deemed necessary, it is best for everyone that the process is concluded in a timely manner.

ASCL is disappointed that the government has ignored our advice about the new teacher standards. We strongly agree that performance management should be underpinned by a set of clear and sharp standards, but the new ones are woolly and vague. They have not been linked to the teachers’ pay and conditions framework. We warned the government that this will make them difficult to assess and could undermine the effectiveness of an otherwise improved policy. All of these are problems which could be overcome by less hasty implementation and working with school leaders.”

13 January 2012