Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “We fully endorse the Committee's recognition that the quality of teaching is the essential driver of standards in our education system. Other factors pale almost into insignificance by comparison. We need a renewed focus in this area. It means a change of rhetoric, to celebrate rather than condemn the profession; it means a closer look at recruitment, better training and competitive rewards. Need we mention that cutting people's pay and pensions is unlikely to help?
“There are good and bad teachers. There are also lots of competent teachers who can develop to be outstanding in the right climate. NAHT recommends to its members that they set aside a proportion of their school's budget to spend on training. Not 'tick box' conferences and INSET days, but carefully selected interventions that connect the schools plan with individual need.
“We also think that the first port of call in any performance management system is training and development. If there's a problem, you give honest feedback and help someone improve.
“It is vital that outstanding teachers can progress rapidly through the ranks (without spending less time in the classroom) and outdated notions of seniority that stand in the way of this must be removed.”
You can download the report here.
Page Published: 01/05/2012
