The TES guide to all that confusing job ad jargon

UNDERSTANDING THE PAY SCALES
Below you'll find a quick guide to the current teachers' pay scales. For more information on pay and conditions visit Teachernet  

Main Pay Scale (MPS)
Qualified classroom teachers start on a six point main pay scale (M1 - M6). Teachers usually start on point M1, but if they have other teaching experience they may start higher up the scale. Each September teachers on the MPS move to the next point on the scale, subject to satisfactory performance.

Current main pay scale rates:
England and Wales (excl. London and fringe) - for current rates, click here
Outer London - for current rates, click here
Inner London - for current rates, click here
London Fringe* - for current rates, click here

*To find out which areas fall into the London Fringe area, click here

Upper Pay Scale (UPS)
Qualified teachers who reach the top of the main pay scale (point 6) may apply to be assessed against eight national standards and if they meet the standards cross the "threshold" to the upper pay scale.

Current upper pay scale rates:
England and Wales (excl. London and fringe) - for current rates, click here
Outer London - for current rates, click here
Inner London - for current rates, click here
London Fringe* - for current rates, click here

Advanced Skills Teachers (AST)
Advanced Skills Teachers have their own 27-point pay spine. Each AST is paid within a five point range which is based primarily on the nature of the work to be undertaken, the scale of the challenges to be tackled, the professional competencies required and any other recruitment considerations.

Current advanced pay scale rates:
England and Wales (excl London and fringe) - for current rates, click here
Outer London - for current rates, click here
Inner London - for current rates, click here
London Fringe* - for current rates, click here

To visit the Advanced Skills Teachers homepage, click here

Leadership Group 
School leaders are paid on the 43-point leadership spine. Heads' pay is normally related to school group size, but governing bodies can pay more where necessary to recruit and retain headteachers in challenging schools.

Teaching Assistants
For details on current salary rates, click here

GENERAL SALARY JARGON

Individual School Range (ISR)
Head teachers' pay range.

Special Education Needs/SEN Allowance (SEN) 
Provision to support pupils with learning disabilities - may be provided through mainstream or more specialised education. 

Threshold/Perfomance Threshold
The aim of the Performance Threshold is to encourage and reward good teaching. It gives experienced and effective teachers a consolidated pay increase of over £2,000 and access to further points on the upper pay scale.

Once teachers achieve point 6 on the Main Pay Scale they are eligible to apply for 'Threshold' assessment against national standards and move onto the Upper Pay Scale if successful.

TRAINEE TEACHER JARGON

Fast Track Teaching Programme
Open to both qualified teachers and people looking to join the profession, Fast Track Teaching is a professional career development programme designed to help create future leaders for schools across England. For more information on Fast Track Teaching, click here.

Training Bursary
Eligible postgraduate trainee teachers in England who are ordinarily resident in the UK or European Union and are on an eligible course will receive a £6,000 training bursary.

Golden Hellos 
An additional £4000 (the 'golden hello') is available for eligible candidates in their second year of teaching a shortage subject - science, English, modern foreign languages, design & technology, ICT and mathematics (attracting an additional £1,000 to make a total payment of £5,000). For further details on Golden Hellos, click here. 

MISCELLANEOUS JARGON

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) 
The AQA marks exam papers and moderates coursework for students in schools and colleges, and offers a range of qualifications, including GCSE, GCE and GNVQ. AQA is the largest of the three English unitary awarding bodies. To visit the AQA homepage, click here.

Foundation School 
Generally, former grant-maintained schools. They retain powers over admissions, hiring and firing staff and own the land and buildings. Funding, however, comes from the local education authority which also pays for any building work. Covers education provided from 3-years-old through to the end of Reception Year.

Full-Time Equivalent worker (FTE)
The equivalent of a full-time worker. For example, two people who each work half time correspond to one FTE.

General Teaching Councils'  fees (GTC) 
To view frequently asked questions and answers about the GTC's registration fees, click here.

Group (of a school) 
The number of pupils and their ages determines the school’s Unit Total according to a formula laid down by the Teachers Pay and Conditions Document. Unit Totals are divided into bands which decide the group number of a school. The term 'Number on Roll' (NOR) is also used when registering the number of pupils at a named school.

Key Skills
These are skills (social, mental, physical) that objectives of the British National Curriculum should be taught through. To view the DfES website page on key skills, click here.

Key Stages
The stages of compulsory education, at the end of which children are tested against attainment targets set by the National Curriculum for those stages.

The curriculum for each age group.                                                              
key stage 1 = infants
key stage 2 = juniors
key stage 3 = lower secondary school
key stage 4 = GCSE

To view the Department for Education and Skills national qualifications framework, click here.

Local Education Authority (LEA)
This is the local government department responsible for the schools within its borough. For contact details of LEAs, click here.

Naacemark for schools
The Naacemark has been developed by Naace, in association with Becta. It is an award which recognises a school's success in developing and implementing a strategic approach to ICT. To visit the Naacemark website, click here.

National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
Anyone with experience of leadership at a whole school level can apply for a place on the NPQH. Normally this will be as a member of the school’s leadership group or senior management team. For further details on NPHQ, click here.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) 
The professional status you need to obtain to teach in state maintained schools in England and Wales. QTS is normally awarded after successful completion of ITT and the skills tests. For further details, click here.

Senior Management Team (SMT)
Membership of the Senior Management Team will vary from school to school and may include Advanced Skills Teachers and Heads of Department as well as Headteachers, Assistant Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers.

MORE JARGON? Did we miss something? If you have something to contribute to this jargon buster, send details to jargon@tes.co.uk