The Education (School Teachers' Pay and Conditions) (No. 7) Order 2001

School Teachers' Pay and Conditions

14.  After Annex 2 there shall be inserted the following annexes—

“Annex 3

Eligibility criteria for fast track assessment

1.   The teacher is registered with the General Teaching Council for England and is not subject to any restriction, condition or suspension, imposed by the Secretary of State or the General Teaching Council for England, the General Teaching Council for Wales, the General Teaching Council for Scotland or the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.

2.   The teacher obtained a first class or class 2.1 honours degree or holds a qualification which in the opinion of the assessment body is equivalent to such a degree.

3.   The teacher is not entitled to be paid at point 9 on the main pay scale, is not entitled to be paid as a post-threshold teacher and does not hold an advanced skills teacher post or a leadership group post.

4.   The teacher has supplied a reference from a person with a knowledge of teaching and who is able to comment objectively on the teacher’s suitability to become a fast track teacher.

Annex 4

Fast Track Teachers' Competencies and Values

COMPETENCIES

THINKING STYLE

1.   Analysis and problem solving—The teacher identifies solutions to problems and takes responsibility for making decisions. In particular he typically:

(a) anticipates problems and assumes personal ownership to take action and address them;

(b) systematically gathers up to date information from a wide range of relevant quantitative and qualitative sources and perspectives;

(c) collects and analyses all available relevant information to gain a comprehensive understanding of the immediate situation;

(d) effectively assimilates different types of information eg facts, diverse, conflicting views and strong opinions;

(e) interprets information logically to identify options and conclusions;

(f) quickly identifies the key issues, recognising themes within information, possible causes and anomalies;

(g) uses sound judgement to make decisions when there is no obvious answer;

(h) seeks to identify the best solution for all concerned;

(i) makes timely decisions and ensures decisions are implemented.

2.   Conceptual thinking—The teacher thinks beyond the immediate situation and identifies new and improved ways of doing things. In particular he typically:

(a) invents new ways of integrating ideas or information into meaningful concepts and models;

(b) continually looks for new and improved ways of doing things and motivates others to do the same;

(c) sees “everyday” problems as an opportunity to do something different and creative;

(d) is able to anticipate future possibilities i.e. thinking is not constrained by the current situation;

(e) is able to take an overview of situations, standing back from detail;

(f) identifies connections between apparently unrelated situations;

(g) looks at situations from different angles to generate novel interpretations and ideas.

3.   Ensuring the delivery of quality results—The teacher sets high standards for himself and others and ensures they are achieved. In particular he typically:

(a) consistently focuses energy and effort on achieving the best possible results with the time and resources available;

(b) sets stretching and achievable task objectives for himself and others, ensuring these are understood and accepted by all those involved;

(c) is able to anticipate realistically the time needed to complete tasks;

(d) identifies what needs to be achieved, by when, by whom and in what order. He anticipates obstacles and develops contingency plans;

(e) is able to manage a variety of tasks simultaneously. He does not become overly distracted by one key task at the expense of others;

(f) consistently monitors and evaluates progress, taking action to revise priorities, overcome obstacles and problems;

(g) develops short, medium term and longer term strategic plans as appropriate.

INTERPERSONAL STYLE

4.   Communicating effectively—The teacher communicates effectively both orally and in writing, capturing the interest and enthusiasm of different audiences. In particular he typically:

(a) communicates aims, ideas and information using clear and concise language that is easy to understand;

(b) adapts the style and content of his communication to appeal to the listener or reader;

(c) effectively selects and uses the appropriate medium to communicate with others (for example: face to face, to individuals or groups, using information and communications technology (ICT));

(d) seeks and listens to others' views and encourages contributions;

(e) ensures information reaches relevant people and that messages are understood;

(f) conveys conviction in his own message, capturing the interest and attention of others.

5.   Influencing others—The teacher is able to persuade and influence other people. In particular he typically:

(a) is highly persuasive, presenting convincing and appealing arguments;

(b) is an independent thinker and is prepared to challenge other people’s views;

(c) effectively negotiates with others to agree a way forward;

(d) is proactive in creating and maintaining a broad network of contacts. He makes effective use of this network e.g. to communicate information, consult and gain support and make progress;

(e) decides and acts upon deliberate strategies to influence others;

(f) overcomes criticisms and challenges with persuasive counter-arguments.

6.   Developing and enabling others—The teacher continually encourages others to perform to the best of their abilities and challenges under-performance. In particular he typically:

(a) continually challenges and encourages others to perform to the best of their abilities;

(b) establishes how he can best support individual needs and provides appropriate direction, coaching and support;

(c) identifies people’s strengths and development needs and provides timely constructive feedback;

(d) helps people to identify actions they can take to improve and agrees motivating and stretching objectives;

(e) adapts his approach to respond to individual differences in for example motivation and learning style.

7.   Teamworking and building relationships—The teacher builds and contributes to highly effective working relationships with individuals, within and across teams. In particular he typically:

(a) brings problems that hamper teamworking out into the open and works with others to resolve them;

(b) demonstrates respect for diversity in needs, attitudes and opinions of others, and adapts his behaviour accordingly;

(c) seeks to understand and is sensitive to others' concerns and problems, offers continued help and support;

(d) is genuinely interested in people and seeks to get to know them;

(e) makes time to be accessible to others. He makes it easy for others to get to know him and feel comfortable in his presence.

PERSONAL STYLE

8.   Confidence and resilience—The teacher demonstrates self confidence in his ability to succeed, maintaining energy and enthusiasm in highly challenging situations. In particular he typically:

(a) appears confident and self-assured in a wide range of social and professional situations;

(b) approaches new situations and takes on difficult challenges willingly and positively and encourages others to do the same;

(c) is able to make and defend unpopular decisions;

(d) can tolerate working under pressure, quickly overcomes setbacks, retaining a positive “can do” attitude;

(e) remains “upbeat” and maintains energy level when challenged or criticised;

(f) manages his own time to achieve a healthy balance between home and work.

9.   Commitment to self-development—The teacher shows a commitment to his own learning and takes responsibility for his own professional development. In particular he typically:

(a) is highly motivated to increase continually the breadth and depth of his knowledge and skills;

(b) creates opportunities for self-development—is prepared to take risks by trying new things;

(c) sets challenging personal goals and strives to achieve them;

(d) actively seeks feedback from others and is open to constructive criticism and learning from his mistakes;

(e) takes actions to address his development needs.

VALUES

Integrity and Fairness

10.   The teacher:

(a) respects all individual differences, for example: gender, race and background, and behaves fairly towards others irrespective of these;

(b) listens equally to parties with differing views and opinions and demonstrates that they are of equal value to him;

(c) does what he says he will do and keeps commitments;

(d) says when he does not know the answer;

(e) admits mistakes and when he got it wrong;

(f) handles difficult issues objectively and sensitively.

Commitment to working with children

11.   The teacher:

(a) is able to articulate with passion and conviction why he wants to teach children;

(b) has sought out opportunities to work with children;

(c) is able to build rapport with many different groups of children;

(d) is interested in understanding children’s minds, behaviour and development;

(e) retains enthusiasm and commitment for working with children despite adverse reactions or difficulties;

(f) puts the needs of children before his own;

(g) believes in equality of opportunity for all children.

Passion for learning and education

12.   The teacher:

(a) can articulate his educational values with enthusiasm and conviction;

(b) believes in the ability of everyone to achieve and fulfil their potential;

(c) has a genuine interest in how people learn and develop;

(d) gains satisfaction from helping others learn and develop and passing on skills and knowledge;

(e) has high expectations of self, pupils and others in relation to achieving potential;

(f) has a demonstrable passion for his own curriculum area. He is clearly motivated to teach his own curriculum area to others.”.