Reward outstanding teachers with higher pay, urge MPs

Teachers adding the most to pupil’s performance should be financially rewarded, the Commons Education Select Committee said.

In a report published yesterday examining the best ways of recruiting and retaining top teachers MPs calls for the Department for Education to develop a pay system which rewards teachers who add the greatest value to pupil performance.

“We acknowledge the potential political and practical difficulties in introducing such a system, but the comparative impact of an outstanding teacher is so great that we believe such difficulties must be overcome,” it says.

However Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said: “Payment by results is total nonsense.

“Children are not tins of beans and schools are not factory production lines. Successful schools rely on a collegiate approach and team working.

“Performance-related pay is not only inappropriate but also divisive. Children and young people differ and class intakes differ from year to year, making it impossible to measure progress in simplistic terms.”

The report also proposes teenagers be put in charge of lessons to encourage them to train as teachers.

“Teaching taster classes” should be offered to sixth-formers and undergraduates to show them the benefits of a career in the profession, the committee said. It also called for would-be teachers to be observed in the classroom before they are offered a training place to check their suitability for the job.

The report says that allowing young people to try out teaching could improve the quality of applicants and lead to a lower drop-out rate.

MPs also suggests the creation of a National Teacher Sabbatical Scholarship scheme to allow outstanding teachers to take time out of the classroom to work in a different school, undertake research or refresh their subject knowledge.

It also called for the Government to develop plans for a new “College of Teaching”, a professional body modelled along the lines of chartered institutes seen in other professions.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “Although the quality of our teachers is very high, many top graduates who could make a huge difference to children’s education are choosing other professions.”

This report supports the Government’s strategy for teacher recruitment as being appropriately focused on attracting top graduates into the profession and giving them outstanding training.