20th Report of the School Teachers’ Review Body

The Secretary of State has announced that he intends to accept in principle the substantive recommendations made in the report. The NAHT and other consultees have until 3 June to submit comments on the recommendations to the Secretary of State.

The STRB has recommended that:

• There should be an overall limit on the discretions that can be applied to head teachers’ pay.

• There should be a “base” Individual School Range (ISR) for a head teacher clearly defined in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) and it should be the normal expectation that this remuneration covers the head teacher’s full role.

• Any discretion above “base” ISR should be used only when clearly justified and the total of all discretions should not exceed the limit of 25% above the individual’s point on their “base” ISR in any given year.

• Governing bodies should ensure they have oversight of all the contractual arrangements and income streams applying to the head teacher.

• It should be wholly exceptional to exceed the limit of 25% above “base” ISR, but where it is necessary to consider an exception, a business case must be presented to the full governing body, which must seek external independent advice in reaching its decision.

The STRB has also further recommended that:

• The Department re-draft the provisions in the STPCD to give effect to the recommendations, including in particular:

  •  Making clear it should be the normal expectation that the remuneration provided by the “base” ISR, as set out in paragraphs 4.55 – 4.57 of the report, should encompass all the responsibilities of a head teacher, for example the need to address improvement challenges in the “home” school and a wider contribution across the education system such as the sharing of good practice and liaison with other service providers.

  • Making clear the role of the governing body in considering any wholly exceptional cases to exceed the limit.  This must require the relevant committee to make a business case for the exception to the full governing body, which must itself seek external independent advice before making a decision on whether it is justifiable to exceed the limit and the amount of the total remuneration. There must be a clear audit trail for any advice given to the governing body and a full and proper record of all decisions and the reasoning behind them.

• Seek better to align the structure of the STPCD so as to draw together in one place all existing discretions as they impact on head teachers and locate provisions on head teachers’ pay alongside statements on head teachers’ professional responsibilities.

• Consider what arrangements should be put in place to monitor the use of exceptions to the limit on discretions.

• Consider how to give effect to the recommendation that governing bodies should ensure they have oversight of all the contractual arrangements and income streams applying to a head teacher, e.g. by a single contract for a head teacher, overseen by the governing body.

Pay uplift for unqualified teachers earning £21,000 or less

The STRB has recommended that:

• A non-consolidated payment of £250 be made in both years to all full-time teachers on points 1-3 of the Unqualified Teachers’ scale;

• The £250 payment be pro-rated according to their working hours for part-time teachers on points 1-3 of the Unqualified Teachers’ scale;

• The Department, as part of its consultative process, seek views on a simple and cost-effective method of payment, and issue guidance as appropriate.

The NAHT will prepare a response to submit to the Secretary of State as soon as full consideration can be given to the Report.

In the meantime if colleagues have any comments  or queries regarding the recommendations, please e-mail Dave Beresford at daveb@naht.org.uk.