Performance Management for Teachers: Headteachers' perspectives

For the first time, the performance of teachers in England and Wales is being directly linked to their pay. This article traces the introduction and implementation of one strand of the UK government's performance-related pay strategy, Performance Management, from the perspective of 12 primary and secondary headteachers of schools located in three different regions of England. The empirical data gathered by the Teachers' Incentive Pay Project team, based at the University of Exeter, suggested while heads may not be against performance-related pay in principle, its practical application is seen as fraught with difficulties. The lack of guidance and clarification regarding funding arrangements, the absence of nationally agreed criteria for judging whether post-Threshold teachers should progress up the upper pay scale, and the potential divisiveness, if it is not effectively implemented, of the scheme in a culture that depends on co-operation and collaboration, meant that heads were anticipating the implementation of the link between pay and performance with some trepidation.