MODEL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT POLICY WALES

MODEL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT POLICY WALES The largest teachers union in Wales 1

CONTENTS These are the sections of the performance management model policy. Page Application of the policy Purpose Links to school improvement, school self-evaluation and school development planning Consistency of treatment and fairness Appointment of appraisers Planning and objective setting Planning Monitoring Progress Informal Performance Review Discussions Revising objectives Practice, review and development records Appraisal review Appeals Confidentiality and access to appraisal statements Training and support 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 Retention of statements 7 Monitoring and evaluation Review of the policy Access to documentation Annex A Planning record template Annex B Lesson observation protocol Annex C Lesson observation feedback template Annex D Practice, review and development record template Annex E Appraisal statement and annex template 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 2

MODEL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT POLICY The Governing Body of [ this performance management policy on [ ]. ] School adopted APPLICATION OF THE POLICY The policy applies to the headteacher and to all teachers employed by the school, except teachers on contracts of less than one term, those undergoing induction (i.e. newly qualified teachers) and those who are the subject of capability procedures. The policy can also be adapted by local authorities for unattached teachers, where appropriate. The Performance Management process will not be used as a substitute for the informal stage of the capability procedure. Capability is subject to a separate policy and procedure. The Performance Management process will not constitute any steps that must be taken in disciplinary or dismissal procedures. Disciplinary and dismissal is subject to a separate policy and procedure. PURPOSE This policy sets out the framework for a clear and consistent assessment of the overall performance of teachers and the headteacher and for supporting their development needs within the context of the school s improvement plan and their own professional needs. Where teachers are eligible for pay progression, the assessment of performance throughout the cycle, against the performance criteria specified in the statement, will be the basis on which the recommendation is made by the appraiser. LINKS TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT, SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION AND SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT The performance management process will be the main source of information for school self-evaluation and the wider school-improvement process. Appraisees objectives will be aligned with the school s priorities and plans, as well as reflecting appraisees professional aspirations. CONSISTENCY OF TREATMENT AND FAIRNESS The governing body is committed to ensuring consistency of treatment and fairness in the operation of performance management. The governing body recognises that teachers and headteachers have a right to pursue a grievance if there is an objection to an appraiser, the process is being applied unfairly, or access to professional development is being denied. APPOINTMENT OF APPRAISERS The headteacher must appoint an appraiser for every teacher at the school. The local authority is the appraiser for unattached teachers but may delegate some or all of the responsibilities to an appropriate person. The governing body must appoint at least two governors as appraisers of the headteacher at the school. The local authority may appoint one or two appraisers in relation to the appraisal of the headteacher. 3

The appraisal of headteachers is carried out by a panel comprising at least two governors appointed by the governing body, one or two appraisers appointed by the local authority and, where appropriate, an appraiser appointed by the diocesan authority. The right to object to an appraiser is referred to in the section on Consistence of Treatment and Fairness above. PLANNING AND OBJECTIVE SETTING Planning At the start of the annual cycle, the appraiser and the appraisee will meet to plan and prepare for the appraisal. Objectives will be set and the procedures for monitoring progress during the cycle will be agreed. The objectives will be challenging, realistic, achievable, time-bound, fair and equitable in relation to teachers with similar roles/responsibilities and experience. They will have regard to what can reasonably be expected of any teacher in that position, given the desirability of the appraisee being able to achieve a satisfactory balance between the time required to discharge professional duties and the time required to pursue personal interests outside work, consistent with the school s strategy for bringing downward pressure on working hours. The objectives will also take account of the appraisee s professional aspirations and any relevant pay progression criteria. They should be such that, if achieved, they will contribute to improving the progress of pupils at the school. The professional development activities and support required to assist the appraisee in meeting the objectives will be identified. The appraiser and appraisee will seek to agree the objectives and the professional development activities and support required to assist in meeting the objectives, but where a joint determination cannot be made, the appraiser will make the determination but the appraisee will be allowed to add comments. All teachers, including the headteacher, will have no more than three objectives. Teachers, including the headteacher, will not necessarily all have the same number of objectives. As appropriate, all teachers, including the headteacher, may have a whole-school objective or a team objective. Although performance management is an assessment of overall performance of teachers and headteacher, objectives cannot cover the full range of a teacher s roles/responsibilities. In addition, the professional standards should be looked at as a whole to provide a backdrop to the discussions to identify areas of strength and areas for further development. Objectives will, therefore, focus on the priorities for an individual for the cycle. At the review stage it will be assumed that those aspects of an appraisee s roles/responsibilities not covered by the objectives, or any revisions to the objectives that may have been made during the cycle, have been carried out satisfactorily. A planning record template is provided at Annex A. 4

Monitoring Progress The procedures for monitoring progress will ensure that lesson observation is limited to a total of three hours. This limit will cover all lesson observations, other than in the circumstances described below, and will be proportionate to the needs of the appraisee. Lesson observation will normally be undertaken by the appraisers, unless it has been agreed at the planning meeting that some of the observation will be carried out by other persons. The selection of lessons to be observed will be balanced to reflect the range of work undertaken by an appraisee. All lesson observation will be undertaken through performance management other than during an Estyn Inspection, or by Estyn in circumstances where an inspection report categorises a school as requiring significant improvement or special measures, or a teacher becoming subject to capability procedures. Only persons holding qualified teacher status (QTS) will be eligible to undertake lesson observation. A protocol for lesson observation is provided at Annex B. A template for lesson observation feedback is provided at Annex C. Informal Performance Review Discussions The arrangements for any informal performance review discussions during the appraisal cycle will be agreed at the planning meeting but, in general, such meetings should coincide with the lesson observations and feedback. A written record of the discussions will be kept. An appraiser must not obtain information from any other person, whether written or oral, relevant to the appraisee s performance without the prior consent of the appraisee. REVISING OBJECTIVES Objectives will be revised by the appraiser only in exceptional circumstances and the reasons for the revision will be recorded fully by the appraiser. Appraisees will be allowed to record any objections to revised objectives. PRACTICE, REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT RECORDS Appraisees are required to maintain an up-to-date practice, review and development (PRD) record during the course of the appraisal cycle. The PRD record must include a record of an appraisee s assessment of performance against the objectives, particulars of professional development activities undertaken and how this has contributed to meeting the objectives, and particulars of any factors that an appraisee considers are affecting performance against the objectives. The PRD record will be a short, concise record that covers the requirements of the regulations only. The PRD record is a personal record held by an appraisee who is only required to provide a copy to the appraiser for the planning and review meetings. The PRD record will not form part of the appraisal statement. A template for the PRD record is provided at Annex D. 5

APPRAISAL REVIEW At the end of the cycle, assessment of performance against the objectives will be on the basis of the performance criteria set at the beginning of the cycle and taking account of the PRD record. Good progress towards the achievement of a challenging objective, even if the performance criteria have not been met in full, will be assessed favourably. An appraiser must not obtain information from any other person, whether written or oral, relevant to an appraisee performance without the consent of the appraisee. A template for the appraisal statement and annex is provided at Annex E. APPEALS Teachers and headteachers have a right of appeal against the written statement prepared by the appraiser following the review meeting. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the governing body or in some instances for unattached teachers to the authority within ten school days of receiving the appraisal statement. The governing body or local authority, where applicable, must provide a copy of the appraisal statement to the appeals officer, or the appeals panel in the case of a headteacher, within five school days of receiving an appeal. The appeal, including representations, must be heard within ten school days of receiving the appraisal statement. The appeals officer or panel can decide if the process has been carried out satisfactorily, amend the statement but only with the agreement of the appraisee, or order that a new appraisal can be carried out. Where the determination is for a new appraisal, the process must be completed within 15 school days. The appeals officer or panels cannot determine that new objectives be agreed or set, or that the agreed or set objectives be revised. CONFIDENTIALITY AND ACCESS TO STATEMENTS OF OBJECTIVES AND APPRAISAL STATEMENTS The whole performance management process, the statement of objectives and the appraisal statement are personal and confidential documents and will be kept in a secure place. The appraiser must give a copy of the appraisal statement to the headteacher. The headteacher must provide a copy of the statement, on request, to the appraiser, any appeals officer, any governor responsible for advising or taking decisions in relation to the promotion of teachers or the use of any discretion in relation to pay, and to the Chief Education Officer or a specially designated adviser responsible for advising or taking decisions in relation to the promotion of teachers or the use of any discretion in relation to pay where a school does not have a delegated budget. The governing body must provide a copy of the headteacher s statement of objectives to Estyn, if requested. 6

TRAINING AND SUPPORT The school s continuing professional development (CPD) programme will be informed by the training and development needs identified in the training annex of the appraisees planning and review statements. The governing body will ensure in the budget planning that, as far as possible, appropriate resources are made available for any training and support agreed for appraisees. An account of the training and development needs of teachers in general, including the instances where it did not prove possible to provide any agreed CPD, will form a part of the headteacher s annual report to the governing body about the operation of the performance management in the school. Appraisees will not be held accountable for failing to make good progress towards meeting their performance objectives where the support recorded in the planning statement has not been provided. All appraisers will be provided with training to enable them to discharge all aspects of their role appropriately and effectively, including the conduct of performance management reviews, objective setting, lesson observation, and the provision of quality feedback to appraisees. RETENTION OF STATEMENTS Performance management planning and review statements will be retained for a minimum period of six years. MONITORING AND EVALUATION The governing body will monitor the operation and outcomes of performance management arrangements. The headteacher will provide the governing body with a written report on the operation of the school s performance management policy annually. The report will not contain any information that would enable any individual to be identified. The report will include: the operation of the performance management policy; the effectiveness of the school s performance management procedures; teachers training and development needs. The governing body is committed to ensuring that the performance management process is fair and non-discriminatory, and the following monitoring data should be included in the headteacher s report because it represents the possible grounds for unlawful discrimination: race; sex; sexual orientation; disability; religion and belief; age; part-time contracts; NASUWT membership. 7

The headteacher will also report on whether there have been any appeals or representations, on an individual or collective basis, on the grounds of alleged discrimination under any of the categories above. REVIEW OF THE POLICY The governing body, the local authority and the headteacher will review the performance management policy every school year at its [ ] meeting. In the event that agreement cannot be reached, the local authority must determine the policy. The governing body will take account of the headteacher s report in its review of the performance management policy. The policy will be revised, as required, to ensure that it is always up to date. Prior to the establishment or amendment of the policy, the governing body (or the headteacher if so directed) must consult with the school teachers at the school on the content or any proposed changes. The governing body will seek to agree any revisions to the policy with the recognised trade unions. To ensure teachers are fully conversant with the performance management arrangements, all new teachers who join the school will be briefed on them as part of their introduction to the school. ACCESS TO DOCUMENTATION All staff will have access to documentation relating to school improvement and development and any other documents and procedures to which this policy relates. These will be published on the school s intranet and/or can be obtained from the school office. 8

ANNEX A PLANNING RECORD TEMPLATE PLANNING RECORD Name of Appraisee: Name of Appraiser: Date of meeting: Objectives: 1. 2. 3. Development and training: Resources to support the objectives: Procedure for monitoring progress: Appraisee s comments: Appraisee (signature): Appraiser (signature): Date: 9

ANNEX B LESSON OBSERVATION PROTOCOL he governing body is committed to ensuring that classroom observation is developmental and supportive and that those involved in the process will: carry out the role with professionalism, integrity and courtesy; evaluate objectively; report accurately and fairly; and respect the confidentiality of the information gained. The total period for classroom observation arranged for any teacher will not exceed three hours per cycle, having regard to the individual circumstances of the teacher. There is no requirement to use all of the three hours. The amount of observation for each teacher should reflect and be proportionate to the needs of the individual. In each school, proportionate to need will be determined through discussion in the planning and review meeting and as appropriate to the objectives set and whether the teacher works part or full time. The arrangements for classroom observation will be included in the planning statement at the start of the cycle and will include the amount of observation and specify its primary purpose, any particular aspects of the teacher s performance to be assessed, the duration of the observation, when during the performance management cycle the observation will take place and who will conduct the observation. The selection of lessons to be observed will be balanced to reflect the range of work undertaken by an appraisee. Information gathered during the observation will be used, as appropriate, for a variety of purposes, including to inform school self-evaluation and school-improvement strategies in accordance with the school s commitment to streamlining data collection and minimising bureaucracy and workload burdens on teachers. Information gathered from classroom observation will assist the headteacher in the exercise of her/his duty to evaluate the standards of teaching and learning and to ensure that proper standards of professional performance are established and maintained. In keeping with the commitment to supportive and developmental classroom observation, the observations will be only those agreed and recorded at the planning meeting and, where specific lessons have not been identified at the planning meeting, those being observed will be notified at least five working days in advance. Classroom observations will only be undertaken by persons with QTS and who are registered with the GTCW. Classroom observation will only be undertaken by those who have had adequate training and preparation and have the appropriate professional skills to undertake observation and to provide constructive oral and written feedback and support, in the context of professional dialogue between colleagues. Oral feedback will be given as soon as possible after the observation and no later than the end of the following working day. It will be given during directed time in a suitable, private environment. Written feedback will be provided within five working days of the observation taking place. If issues emerged from an observation that were not part of the focus of the observation as recorded in the planning and review statement, these should also be covered in the written feedback and the appropriate action discussed with the teacher. The written record of feedback will include the date on which the observation took place, the lesson observed and the length of the observation. The teacher has the right to append written comments on the feedback document. No written notes in addition to the written feedback will be kept. Drop-ins, where conducted, will only be undertaken by the headteacher. 10

ANNEX C LESSON OBSERVATION FEEDBACK TEMPLATE Date of feedback: Date of observation: Class observed: Strengths: Areas for development: Teacher s comments: Observer (signature): Appraisee (signature): 11

ANNEX D PRACTICE, REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT RECORD TEMPLATE PRACTICE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT RECORD Professional development activities and support provided Contribution of professional development activities and support to meeting objectives Factors that are affecting performance against the objectives Assessment of progress against the objectives Objective Description Date Very helpful Helpful Unhelpful Description Date Met Partially met Not met To be completed at the planning meeting To be completed at the planning meeting Add as confirmed Tick as appropriate To be added during the cycle, if necessary Tick as appropriate 12

ANNEX E APPRAISAL STATEMENT AND ANNEX TEMPLATE APPRAISAL STATEMENT Date of Review Meeting: Appraisee: Appraiser: Please list the objectives and indicate whether they have been met or whether they need further development. Objectives: 1. 2. 3. Areas of particular strength (specify): ANNEX TO STATEMENT Areas to be developed through training, development and support: Support and resources to be provided by school (specify): Appraisee s comments: The content of this record has been agreed by: Appraisee (signature): Appraiser (signature): Date of receipt of the completed review statement by the appraisee: 13

NASUWT contact details NASUWT Headquarters Tel: 0121 453 6150 E-mail: nasuwt@mail.nasuwt.org.uk NASUWT Cymru National Centre Tel: 029 2054 6080 E-mail: rc-wales-cymru@mail.nasuwt.org.uk NASUWT Action Advice Line Tel: 0121 457 6292 E-mail:action@mail.nasuwt.org.uk 14