Explaining Pay Scales 

Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments explained

 

  TLR Payments


Do schools have to introduce TLRs? 
TLRs can be introduced at any point during a three year transition period up to January 1, 2009. Heads will have to consult staff and union representatives on the proposed changes. 

Will it be possible to place a different cash value on an existing allowance which appears as a TLR?
Yes. However, if the cash value is lower and the responsibilities remain the same, it will be necessary to justify this. 

Can a teacher hold two TLR payments?
No

Can a TLR payment cover a number of responsibilities?
It is highly likely that in a number of schools TLR payments will cover a range of responsibilities.

Can teachers appeal about decisions made?
Yes, to the school's governors.

How will teachers qualify for a TLR2 payment?
For a TLR2 payment of between £2,250 and £5,500, you will have to show that you have a specific responsibility which focuses on teaching and learning and needs professional skills and judgment. This responsibility must be one which is not expected of all classroom teachers and it should be clearly defined in your job description.

You must be able to demonstrate that your responsibilities ensure high-quality teaching and learning and influence the progress of many pupils, not just the ones you teach.

You should be leading, managing and developing a subject or curriculum area or furthering pupils' progress across the curriculum.

What about TLR1 payments? 
To gain one of these, worth between £6,500 and £11,000, you must meet all the criteria for TLR2 and be a line manager for a significant number of people. If you are the head of a large to medium-sized department, you stand a good chance of qualifying.

How will the new payments be decided?
Schools will have to carry out a staffing review. They will not be allowed to use payments to retain staff, reward good performance or pay for administration. Schools will be able to choose the number of different payment levels, but there must be a minimum gap of £1,500 between each level. Unions such as the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National Association of Head Teachers will produce guidance to help schools.

What are the advantages?
Some of the unions say the new structure will bring "clarity and transparency" as the levels of payment and the overall pay policy must be published. The Secondary Heads Association says it will give heads more flexibility over pay.

What are the disadvantages?
The National Union of Teachers says the plan is a recipe for "turmoil and uncertainty". Some teachers will actually lose money as not all the staff who currently receive management allowances will get them under the new system. One estimate says that up to 3,000 teachers could suffer pay cuts; it is thought that teachers at small primaries could be most at risk as these schools will find it difficult to fund Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments. 

Are all the unions recommending the new deal?
No. The NUT has called for significant pay rises for all experienced teachers. The other unions are saying that the scheme is the lesser of two evils; the original suggestions from the review body included sweeping cuts in the number of management allowances, one-off bonus payments and temporary allowances. 

 

Performance-related payments explained

What is happening to performance-related payments?
Around 20 per cent of teachers currently on point three of the upper pay scale are expected to be eligible for the new excellent teachers payment,which replaces points four and five of the upper pay scale. It will probably start in 2006 and will bring salaries up to £41,000. 

How will staff qualify for the excellent teachers' scheme?
It will no longer be enough to show a "substantial and sustained" contribution to your school. Instead you will have to demonstrate excellent results and take on extra duties, such as helping with teachers' induction, mentoring and staff development.

But you will not be able to apply for the extra money unless your school has decided it wants "excellent" teachers and can afford to pay them.The Government has said there will be some additional funding for the scheme, but it has not specified how much. 

Can I have an excellent teachers' payment and responsibility payment?
No. You can either be an excellent teacher or a curriculum manager, not both. The School Teachers' Pay and Review Body has decided that the payments should be mutually exclusive.

What happened to Management Allowances?

Management Allowances were replaced in schools at the end of 2005 in favour of a new permanent system of Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payment 

Why the move away from MAs?
According to the Government's Rewards and Incentives Group, the big issue was the £920m cost of implementing MAs. A study also found there was little consistency between or within schools. Some allowances were awarded for recruitment and retention, some for performance and some for administrative responsibilities that should have been carried out by support staff.

What's the last date MAs can be offered and accepted?
The deadline expired on December 31, 2005. New allowances made before then can only last for up to 12 months. Existing MAs awarded up to December 2004 will be safeguarded for three years.  

Further resources

The NUT's view on the TLRs

Teachernet's details of the new pay scales