This article describes the framework for the pay and conditions of service for classroom teachers in maintained schools in England and the main decision-making bodies involved.This framework covers teachers from their first appointment and induction as a newly qualified teacher (NQT), through to middle management roles. This article does not cover teachers in independent schools. Nor does it cover staff in voluntary and independent pre-school provision.

Pay and conditions of service for headteachers and deputy headteachers (collectively known as the 'leadership group'), are described in the article on 'Management Staff'.

Pay ranges for teachers and the contractual framework covering professional responsibilities and working time are set annually by the Secretary of State, taking into account the recommendations of the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), issued by the Department for Education. The STPCD is mandatory for maintained schools. Academies may choose to adopt the same arrangements but are not required to do so. 

Other conditions of service such as maternity leave / pay, sick leave / pay, resignation, and grievance procedures are set out in the 'Burgundy Book' (National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers, 2000). This is published by the National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST), the representative body for employers of teachers in maintained schools, in conjunction with the Local Government Association (LGA) and organisations representing teachers (listed below).

The legal framework for the exercising of staffing functions such as conduct and discipline, capability, staff grievance, appointment, suspension, and dismissal of staff in schools staffing arrangements is provided by Sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002 and the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and subsequent amendments. It applies only to maintained schools, not academies.

Within these frameworks, recruitment decisions and many other functions of the employer are undertaken by the school's governing board. For academies, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the governing board is also the legal employer, while for community schools and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority is the legal employer.

The quality and status of the profession is supported through regulation by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). Until April 2018, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) held this role.  The TRA acts on behalf of the Secretary of State to:

• award Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) to teachers in England on completion of an accredited course of initial teacher training, and
• consider allegations of serious teacher misconduct, carrying out formal investigations when required which may result in the issuing of a prohibition order by the Secretary of State.

Maintained schools must appoint teachers with QTS. Academies usually appoint teachers with QTS, even though this is not a legal requirement. Neither maintained schools nor academies are allowed to appoint prohibited teachers.

The TRA also maintains the database of qualified teachers, which contains a record of all those who have QTS and who have passed induction, along with a list of prohibited teachers. The TRA is also responsible for the recognition of the professional status of appropriately qualified teachers from outside England and for the award of QTS to these teachers.

The associations representing school teachers' interests include: 

• the National Education Union (NEU) (formed following the merger of the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in September 2017)
• the National Association of Schoolmasters / Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Voice.

Teachers are responsible for managing their own careers and recruitment is undertaken solely by schools. First appointment to a post and subsequent advancement depend on successfully competing for a vacancy. Promotion is determined by schools. There are no regulations in relation to teacher mobility and transfer; teachers are employed to work at a particular school and are only deployed elsewhere in the event of there being informal local arrangements.

Retirement arrangements are governed by UK employment law and by the arrangements for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for teachers in England and Wales, which is administered by Teachers’ Pensions on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Education.

The Department for Education (DfE) produces the Governance Handbook, which provides a comprehensive guide to the staffing responsibilities of the governing body of both maintained schools and academies, and how these fit with the responsibilities of the headteacher, the local authority in maintained schools and the Secretary of State for Education for academies.

The DfE has also published non-statutory Advice on Staffing and Employment in Schools (2017). This provides guidance on duties under the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and on wider staffing and employment issues. Under Schedule 16 of the Deregulation Act 2015, the Secretary of State for Education no longer has power to issue statutory advice to schools in respect of the appointment, discipline, suspension and dismissal of staff in maintained schools.

Planning Policy 

Responsibility for ensuring that there is a sufficient supply of trained teachers lies with the Department for Education (DfE). Until April 2018, this responsibility had been fulfilled by an executive agency of the DfE – the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL).

Allocation of initial teacher training places 

The planning process uses a Teacher Supply Model to estimate how many new teachers are needed to enter the teaching profession in a particular year, and to estimate the breakdown of these new teachers between those teachers returning after a break from teaching, those who are new to the state sector but have previously qualified, and those who are newly qualified teachers (NQTs). Of the newly qualified teachers, the model estimates how many postgraduate (consecutive route) ITT (initial teacher training) trainees are needed to start ITT courses in the year in question.

The DfE allocates teacher training places to providers based on yearly estimates using this model. For courses starting in 2018/19, recruitment was unrestricted in all postgraduate courses except for Early Years, Physical Education and Primary School Direct (salaried) courses, which were given fixed allocations.

Guidance on the allocations process is available.

Teacher recruitment and retention 

In January 2019, the DfE launched its Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, which outlines the following four priorities:

• Priority 1 focuses on helping leaders to create supportive school structures; the new school inspection framework will have an active focus on tackling teacher workload.
• Priority 2 aims to improve support for teachers at an early stage in their careers, including the introduction from September 2021, of an Early Career Framework providing a two year package of structured support.
• Priority 3 intends to ensure that a career in teaching remains attractive to teachers as their careers and lives develop, for example, by developing specialist qualifications to support clearer non-leadership career pathways.
• Priority 4 focuses on simplifying the process of becoming a teacher, including the introduction of a new one-stop application service for ITT.

Further information on teacher supply and retention, including the 2019 recruitment and retention strategy, is available in this February 2019 House of Commons Library briefing (CBP-7222).

Initiatives to encourage teacher recruitment and retention 

There are a number of financial incentives aimed at encouraging recruitment to initial teacher training, including targeted training bursaries, which are designed to make training to teach more attractive to the most talented graduates, especially in shortage subjects.

Trainees with a bachelor’s degree at 2:1 or above or a higher degree in a shortage subject are eligible to apply. For example, in 2019/20, bursaries of £26,000 (€29,885)* are available in physics, chemistry, biology, geography, computing and languages. Training bursaries were introduced in 2012/13 with the aim of raising teacher quality and meeting shortages in the context of increased tuition fees.

Teacher training scholarships are also available in the above subject areas; trainees with a 2:1 or above may apply to the appropriate professional body. Scholarships are awarded in place of a bursary. In 2019/20, the value of each scholarship is £28,000 (€32,183)*.

Further information regarding the scholarships and bursaries available for 2019/20 is available on the Government’s Get into Teaching website.

In addition, recent governments have undertaken a range of initiatives aimed both at increasing the recruitment of new and returning teachers, and at improving the retention of existing teachers. Initiatives include:

• measures to train and upskill teachers in specific subjects
• introducing early-career retention payments for maths teachers
• piloting a student loan reimbursement scheme for science and language teachers
• introducing a national teacher vacancy website.

A list of recent initiatives is available in this February 2019 House of Commons Library briefing (CBP-7222).

*Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.87, ECB, 28 January 2019

Entry to the Profession 

Teachers are not civil servants. Teachers in both maintained schools and academies apply for specific teaching posts through an open recruitment process, though there are some differences in the process depending on the type of school.

Maintained schools 

The recruitment and appointment of teachers in maintained schools is subject to the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, made under Sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002. These regulations place a duty on the governing body to check if the person to be appointed:

• has Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
• has the necessary health and physical and mental capacity for the post under the Education (Health Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 
• has not been the subject of a capability order
• is not subject to a prohibition order regarding unacceptable professional conduct or conduct which brings the profession into disrepute
• has not been convicted of a relevant criminal offence.

Employers can carry out these checks through an online service provided by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

Under the staffing regulations, headteachers are expected to take the lead in making decisions on appointments outside the leadership group. The school governing body is expected to delegate this function to the headteacher unless there are good grounds not to do so.

The regulations also set out different procedures for the appointment of staff according to the school's legal category. In all types of maintained school, the governing body decides whether to fill a teaching post when it becomes available. If they do so they must draw up a specification for the post and send a copy to the local authority. Vacancies must be advertised unless the governing body recommends an existing staff member for appointment or accepts somebody nominated by the local authority. In community schools and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority has the right to attend selection meetings and to offer advice, whereas in foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the local authority or a representative only has a right to attend selection meetings to offer advice if this has been agreed by the governing body, or determined by the Secretary of State.

Applicants must be judged on their merits against the objective requirements for the job, and the appointment process should be conducted in a fair and open manner that does not contravene the Equality Act 2010. This Act provides a single legal framework that seeks to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all, and prohibits unfair treatment in the workplace. 

For community and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority must appoint the person selected by the governing body unless they fail the checks for relevant legal requirements. In foundation schools and voluntary aided schools, the governing body, as employer, is responsible for the appointment of suitable applicants.

There are a few exceptions to the requirement for QTS, e.g. teachers undertaking employment-based routes into teaching.

Since 1 April 2012, further education teachers who have been awarded Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status by the Society for Education and Training (SET), and are members of SET, are automatically recognised as qualified teachers in schools.

Academies 

Part 4 of the Schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 sets out the standards for the suitability of staff as they apply to academies and independent schools. Other requirements on academy trusts are set out in their funding agreement. Academy trusts are free to decide which staffing functions they delegate.

The provisions of the Equality Act 2010 apply to academies, as do the entry requirements regarding medical fitness, DBS checks and absence of any prohibitions, see section below on ‘Safer recruitment measures’. 

Teachers in academies are not required to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) unless the requirement for QTS is specified in the school’s funding agreement (although the academy can apply to have this condition removed).

Safer recruitment measures 

Governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies have a duty to ensure that their functions are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils. This duty is enshrined in the Education Act 2002, for maintained schools, and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, for academies and independent schools. This means considering child protection and safeguarding issues at all stages of the recruitment process, as well as complying with specific checking requirements.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was established under the Protections of Freedoms Act 2012 and combines the criminal record checks and barring functions of the former Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) respectively. It is responsible for making the enhanced DBS check required for appointment as a teacher.

In maintained schools, at least one member of a recruitment panel must have undergone relevant safeguarding training. For academies, this is suggested as good practice, but is not mandatory.

Guidance about pre-employment checks and vetting requirements is set out in Section 6.5.3 (pages 71-3) of the Governance Handbook and in part 3 (pages 29-45) of the statutory guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Induction 

All newly qualified teachers (NQTs) intending to work in maintained schools are statutorily required to serve an induction period of three school terms (i.e. an academic year), as set out in the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) Regulations 2012. There is no legal requirement to satisfactorily complete an induction period if an NQT intends to work solely in an academy. However, these regulations permit NQTs to serve their statutory induction period in an academy.

There is no time limit for when induction must take place after achieving Qualified Teacher Status (QTS); the timing is dependent on when the individual is appointed to a teaching post. During the induction period a newly qualified teacher (NQT) is employed in a paid post, with a reduced teaching timetable (90% of that of other teachers at the school). He or she receives support in the form of a personalised programme of development, involving professional dialogue, with monitoring and an assessment of performance against the nationally set Teachers' Standards which were introduced in 2012.

All schools employing an NQT (including part-time NQTs) must put in place a suitable monitoring and support programme for the NQT, personalised to meet their professional development needs. This must include:

• support and guidance from a designated induction tutor, who holds QTS and has the time and experience to monitor the NQT’s progress against the Teachers’ Standards and to carry out the role effectively
• a named contact outside of school with whom they can discuss any concerns that go beyond the school, or are not addressed internally
• observation of the NQT's teaching and follow-up discussion
• regular professional reviews of progress
• the NQT's observation of experienced teachers, either in his or her own institution or in another institution where effective practice has been identified.

Prior to the commencement of induction, an appropriate body must be appointed, to fulfil the regulatory function of deciding whether the NQT has met the Teachers’ Standards, drawing on the recommendation from the NQT's headteacher. For both maintained schools and academies, the local authority is the default appropriate body if the school does not appoint another body to this role. NQTs are formally assessed three times during the induction period and, at the end of this time, the headteacher recommends to the appropriate body whether the Standards have been successfully met.

If induction is not completed successfully, an individual is not eligible for employment as a teacher in a maintained school. NQTs can appeal the decision but induction may not be repeated.

For further information, see the statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE), published in 2018.

Professional status 

Teachers are public employees, but not civil servants. They are not guaranteed employment at any stage of their professional life and must apply for specific posts.

Employment contracts 

Appointments may be made on a permanent (open-ended) basis or on a fixed-term contract. Following the introduction of The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 staff employed on fixed-term contracts have broadly similar rights to their colleagues on permanent contracts. UK employment and equality legislation applies. The National Education Union (NEU) provides guidance on the terms and conditions of employment for teachers on fixed-term contracts.

In maintained schools, a teacher's contract of employment is with either the local authority (LA) or the school governing body, depending on the legal category of school. However, even where the contract is with the LA, many of the functions of the employer are delegated to the school. For academies, the employment contract is with the academy trust.

Professional standards 

The 2011 Teachers' Standards define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers from the point of being awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) onwards. They underpin the entire extent of teacher careers, from initial teacher training through to everyday service and continuing professional development. See the articles on 'Initial Education' and 'Continuing Professional Development' for details of how the standards relate to these contexts.

The standards stipulate (pages 10-13) that a teacher must: 

• set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils 
• promote good progress and outcomes by pupils 
• demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge 
• plan and teach well structured lessons 
• adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils 
• make accurate and productive use of assessment 
• manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment 
• fulfil wider professional responsibilities. 

Teachers must also demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct.

The standards must be used in maintained schools. Use of the standards in academies and free schools depends on the specific establishment arrangements of those schools (page 9).

Professional registration and Code of Conduct 

All teachers who have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are recorded on the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) teacher database.

The TRA also supports the quality and status of the teaching profession by ensuring that, in cases of serious professional misconduct, teachers can be prohibited from teaching. It maintains the list of prohibited teachers and provides guidance on the prohibition of teachers and how professional conduct hearing panels review teacher misconduct .

Replacement measures 

Organising cover for absent teachers is a matter for individual schools.

Long-term absences are usually covered by the appointment of a teacher on a temporary contract. These teachers are fully qualified and known as supply teachers. Schools recruit supply teachers from employment agencies; the school's own contacts; lists of supply teachers provided by the local authority; and part-time teachers working either at the school or locally who are willing to work extra hours on a temporary basis. Many schools purchase insurance to provide cover for some of the costs of supply teachers. 

For short-term absences, schools may use supply teachers, or they may employ 'floating teachers' (who have part-teaching, part-cover contracts)  for the purposes of cover. Teaching assistants and higher level teaching assistants can carry out 'specified work', including delivering lessons to pupils, provided they meet the provisions of the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012. Schools may also deploy ‘cover supervisors’. These are school staff with appropriate skills and training who supervise pupils carrying out pre-prepared exercises when teaching staff are on short-term absence.

Support measures 

As employers, schools have a statutory responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of all staff. This requirement applies to issues relating to health and safety (risk assessments, providing a safe working environment, etc.) and well-being (workload, and emotional and general welfare). The Department for Education (DfE) Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published January 2019, states that creating the right climate for teachers to establish supportive school structures is one of its four main priorities; see chapter 1 (pages 12-17).

Within the school, responsibility for the well-being of the staff lies with the headteacher. In this respect, statutory guidance from the DfE, in the form of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), sets out a number of specific professional duties of the head, namely to: 

• Promote the safety and well-being of pupils and staff.
• Lead, manage and develop the staff, including appraising and managing performance.
• Promote harmonious working relationships within the school. 
• Maintain relationships with organisations representing teachers and other members of the staff.
• Lead and manage the staff with a proper regard for their well-being and legitimate expectations, including the expectation of a healthy balance between work and other commitments (pages 43 and 44). 

Some day-to-day responsibilities may be delegated to other members of a school’s senior leadership team or to a teacher’s line manager.

Support, training and development needs should also be identified through performance management arrangements. There are statutory provisions for this for maintained schools. Academies are not subject to these arrangements, but may adopt them if they wish. Information on performance management is provided under the subheading 'Organisational aspects' in the article on 'Continuing Professional Development'.

For newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in their first year of teaching, additional support is provided through the framework of the statutory induction period. Statutory induction guidance recommends that all NQTs should have a designated induction tutor, along with a named contact outside of school with whom they can discuss any concerns that go beyond the school, or are not addressed internally. The DfE’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy sets out plans to extend induction into an Early Career Framework covering the first two years of service, which is to be introduced in 2021 (see pages 19-23).

The Education Support Partnership is an independent charity that provides practical and emotional support to trainees and support staff. 

Salaries 

All schools must adopt a pay policy that sets out the basis on which they determine teachers' pay and the date by which they will determine the teachers' annual pay review. 

Minimum and maximum values for teachers' pay ranges in maintained schools are determined annually by the Secretary of State, taking into account the recommendations of the bodies described in the introductory section of this article. The salary ranges and guidance on their application are published in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).

Academies are not required to adopt the pay ranges set out in the STPCD. However, many do, because academy budgets are comparable with those in maintained schools, and because staff employed by a maintained school that converts to academy status are entitled to retain their original terms and conditions under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.

There are four ranges within which teachers may be paid: 

Unqualified teacher pay range. This includes individuals who are working towards a teaching qualification and instructors. The legislative basis is set out in The Education (School Teachers' Prescribed Qualifications, etc) Order 2003 (as amended).

Main pay range. This is for qualified teachers who are not entitled to be paid on any other range. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) start at the bottom of the range.

Upper pay range. Teachers must meet certain criteria to be paid on the upper pay range (see the subsection on 'Promotion, advancement' below).

Leading practitioner pay range. Leading practitioners are teachers employed in posts which have the primary purpose of modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills. For each individual post, schools determine a pay range within the overall pay range.

The table below shows the salary ranges for classroom teachers in England and Wales excluding the London area in 2018/19. The pay ranges are differentiated to reflect higher costs of living in London and specified parts of the south and south-east of England. 

Source: pages 19, 20 and 22 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD)

*Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.87, ECB, 28 January 2019

The pay regime, which was first used for the September 2014 pay award, was introduced with the aim of giving all maintained school headteachers the freedom, already enjoyed by academies, to reward good performance and address poor performance.

Schools have discretion over the number and value of points between the statutory minima and maxima, and rates of progression of individual teachers are based solely on performance. The relevant body (either the local authority or the school governing body) must consider annually whether to increase the salary of teachers who have completed a year of employment since the previous annual pay determination and, if so, to what salary within the relevant pay ranges. This is dependent on the outcome of the individual’s annual performance review.

Prior to 2014, the main pay scale consisted of six specified points and the upper pay scale of three specified points. Subject to satisfactory performance appraisal, teachers moved up the pay scales through annual increments and, after reaching the top of the main scale, they could apply to cross the threshold to the upper scale. 

The STPCD does not apply to sixth-form colleges. Pay and conditions of service for staff in sixth-form colleges are negotiated nationally through the National Joint Council (NJC) for Staff in Sixth-Form Colleges and set out in the conditions of service handbook. The agreements reached are recommended to individual colleges.

In addition to salary, Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments may be made. There are three levels of payment:

• TLR3 for clearly time-limited school improvement projects, or one-off externally driven responsibilities. This may be awarded concurrently with another TLR payment for a fixed term. 
• TLR2 for undertaking a sustained additional responsibility relating to delivering high-quality teaching and learning, for which the teacher is made accountable.
• TLR1 for additional responsibility which includes line management responsibility for a significant number of people.

The STPCD sets the maximum and minimum values for the three levels of TLR payment (page 25).

Schools must also set out in their pay policy the arrangements for rewarding classroom teachers with responsibilities for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

For further information, see the Eurydice publication on Teachers’ and School Heads’ Salaries and Allowances 2015/16.

Working time and holidays 

For teachers in maintained schools, the framework for determining working time and holidays is provided by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).

For teachers in academies, these matters are decided by the academy trust. Academy trusts may choose to adopt the same conditions as maintained schools or use these as a benchmark.

The key features of teachers’ working time as set out in the STPCD are as follows (page 47): 

• 190 days per year of teaching 
• 5 further days each year for staff development or other duties 
• across the total of 195 days, up to 1265 hours must be worked at the direction of the headteacher (‘directed time’) 
• duties to be undertaken within directed time include teaching, attendance at consultation meetings with parents and others, and staff development.

In addition to the hours of directed time, a teacher must work ‘such reasonable additional hours as may be necessary to enable the effective discharge of his / her professional duties, including, in particular, planning and preparing courses and lessons; and assessing, monitoring, recording and reporting on the learning needs, progress and achievements of assigned pupils’ (page 48).

Under Part 8A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, all employees have a statutory right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly. Therefore, while reduced hours are not a contractual part of nearing retirement, for example, a request for reduced hours can be made by the teacher.

In December 2017, the Government updated its policy paper on how it is working to help schools adopt flexible working arrangements, such as by encouraging schools to increase the number of part-time or job-sharing posts. The Government also provides guidance on flexible working in schools.

In addition, the Government’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published January 2019, sets out plans to expand flexible working  by launching a new job share service to help those interested find opportunities  and to make sure that quality tools exist to support workforce flexibility (see pages 28-9).

Professional responsibilities 

The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) sets out a number of specific professional responsibilities which teachers may be required to undertake. In addition to teaching, these relate to:

• whole school organisation, strategy and development
• health, safety and discipline
• management of staff and resources
• undertaking professional development
• communicating with pupils, parents and carers
• working with colleagues and other relevant professionals (page 46).

These professional responsibilities also apply to teachers on the leading practitioner pay range (see the subheading ‘Salaries' above). However, additional duties relevant to their role in modelling and leading improvement of teaching skills may be included in their job descriptions.

The STPCD also details those tasks which teachers are not required, or are only exceptionally required, to perform. These form an overall package of contractual provisions designed to raise standards, by freeing teachers and headteachers from tasks which do not require their professional skills and expertise, and enabling them to focus on their function of teaching, and leading and managing teaching and learning. For example, teachers are not required to arrange or supervise public examinations, and should ‘only rarely’ cover for absent colleagues.

As there are many support staff working alongside qualified teachers, regulations were made under the Education Act 2002 clarifying the respective roles of qualified teachers and other staff in schools. The Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012 also specify circumstances under which certain kinds of staff without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – usually support staff – may carry out ‘specified work’ related to teaching and learning. 

Promotion, advancement 

For teachers in maintained schools, the framework for pay progression is set out in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) .

Academies do not have to abide by the STPCD. These matters are decided by the academy trust, which may choose to adopt the same framework or use it as a benchmark. 

Promotion to upper pay range

Under the arrangements introduced from 2013, applications for promotion from the main to the upper pay range (see the subheading ‘Salaries’ above) will be successful where the school governing board is satisfied that: 

1. the teacher is highly competent in all elements of the relevant standards

and payments for additional responsibility

1. the teacher’s achievements and contribution to an educational setting or settings are substantial and sustained (pages 68-9). 

Payments for additional responsibilities 

Further advancement may take the form of being charged with extra responsibilities leading to a Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payment (as described in the subsection ‘Salaries’ above). School staffing structures vary, but, typically, promoted posts would involve one or more of the following additional responsibilities: 

• pastoral responsibilities, including pupil support and guidance and liaison with parents, in roles such as ‘Head of Year’ in a secondary school, or ‘Head of Key Stage’ in primary and secondary schools 
• curriculum responsibility, such as in the role of ‘Curriculum Coordinator’ (in a primary school), or ‘Head of Department’ (secondary) 
• responsibility for a whole-school issue, such as coordination of special educational needs arrangements as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). 

Promotion to leading practitioner pay range 

Schools also have discretion to create posts, paying a salary higher than the maximum of the upper pay range, for qualified teachers whose primary purpose is modelling and leading the improvement of teaching skills. There are no national criteria for appointment to such ‘leading practitioner’ posts. Schools should advertise any vacancies and appoint candidates as they would do for other vacancies, satisfying themselves that successful candidates can demonstrate excellence in teaching and will be able to contribute to leading the improvement of teaching skills.

Mobility and transfers 

Teachers are not civil servants. They are appointed by the individual school and there are no permanent arrangements for staff to be transferred to an alternative institution if their post becomes redundant. Although some local authorities and academy trusts may have informal arrangements to assist redeployment if school teachers are made redundant in a particular school, this is an arrangement based on goodwill alone.

Prior to 2013, teachers who were paid on the upper pay scale retained this personal entitlement, regardless of whether they remained in the same school or obtained posts in other schools. Following reforms introduced in September 2013, there is no longer any obligation on schools when recruiting to match a teacher’s existing salary. Further information is available on page 20 of government guidance (2018) to help schools and governing bodies to develop their approach to teachers’ and school leaders’ pay.

Dismissal 

The framework for the exercise of dismissal in maintained schools is provided by the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and subsequent amendments. The regulations place control of this function in the hands of the school governing body, with the initial dismissal decision normally made by the headteacher.

Academy trusts are responsible for establishing their own dismissal procedures, taking account of relevant law and guidance.

The recommended notice period is two or three months, as set out in the Burgundy Book (2000) (page 5). The Burgundy Book sets out conditions of service that many schools incorporate into contracts of employment for teachers. It is published by the National Employers’ Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST), in conjunction with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the teacher organisations.

The statutory minimum notice period is shorter than the recommended notice period. It is a week if the employee has been continuously employed for more than a month, but for less than two years, and two weeks if the employee has been employed by the employer continuously for two years, with one additional week's notice for each further complete year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Teachers may be dismissed for unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, or a conviction, at any time, of a relevant criminal offence. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has responsibility for considering allegations of serious teacher misconduct, carrying out formal investigations when required which may result in the issuing of a prohibition order by the Secretary of State. In cases of gross misconduct, the recommended notice period of two or three months for the termination of contracts does not apply.

A school’s disciplinary rules must include procedures for dealing with lack of capability on the part of any member of staff. The main purpose of such procedures should be to encourage an employee whose work is unsatisfactory to improve. Under the Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012, a performance monitoring and review period follows a formal capability meeting. The length of the review period can vary according to individual circumstances and must allow sufficient time for improvement to take place. The regulations are accompanied by a model capability policy, published in 2012, that schools may adopt for underperforming teachers who have not improved within the provisions of the normal appraisal process. However, ultimately, the application of ‘capability procedures’ may lead to dismissal.

Retirement and pensions

Both maintained schools and academies are required to offer the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to their teachers. This statutory scheme is governed by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014, made under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. It is administered by Teachers’ Pensions on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).

For teachers joining the scheme since 1 April 2015, the arrangements are:

• a career average scheme
• the Normal Pension Age is equal to the State Pension Age or 65, whichever is the later date
• the accrual rate is 1/57th of pensionable earnings.

The scheme replaced a final salary public service pension scheme, with the aim of making public services pensions more affordable and sustainable.

Teachers aged 55 or over may take early retirement and claim benefits known as Actuarially Adjusted Benefits (AAB). The adjustment is a reduction of approximately 5% for each year taken early before the Normal Pension age of 65.

Under the Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011, the national Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65, which had allowed compulsory retirement for those over that age, was abolished.

Note: Since 2010, the State Pension Age (SPA) has been undergoing reform. It is being gradually increased (to age 68) and the SPA for women is being brought into line with that for men. Further information on the SPA review is available in a government policy paper.

Article last reviewed April 2021.