HR Services for Schools
Note for Headteachers
Teachers Pay 2015/16
This note gives Headteachers a summary of the School Teachers Review Body
recommendations for teachers pay from September 2015. The Secretary of State for
Education has accepted all the recommendations, subject to the outcome of the
statutory consultation.
There is a summary of the current situation regarding the School Teachers Pay and
Conditions Document 2015, the view expressed by the DfE representative at the
recent Regional HR in schools meeting, a summary of the Southend position for this
year (ending in August) and some specific questions for Headteachers about what
they would wish from HR Services for September.
This information, and these questions, was presented to Chairs of Governors at their
meeting of 1st July at Tickfield. They were asked to discuss them with their
Headteachers. I would be grateful if Headteachers would provide me with their
views by 15th July 2015 so that I can start to prepare a draft Model Teachers
Pay Policy - if that is requested by schools. Please email me at
jimgray@southend.gov.uk .
STRB recommendations for 2015/16
 Main Pay Range
– An uplift of 1% to the minima of the range
– An uplift of 2% to the maxima of the range

Upper, Leading Practitioner, Unqualified Range
– An uplift of 1% to the minima and maxima of the range

TLRs and SEN allowances
– An uplift of 1% to the minima and maxima of the TLR payment and
SEN allowance ranges

Leadership group range
– An uplift of 1% to the minima of the overall leadership group range
– No uplift to the maxima of the overall leadership group range
– An uplift of 1% to the minima of each of the eight head teacher group
pay ranges
– No uplift to the maxima of each of the eight head teacher group pay
ranges
Other STRB comments/recommendations for 2015/16
 The Review Body commented that “In the decentralised pay system that
now exists, we believe schools can manage our recommendations
within current budgets.”
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
Discretionary national reference points should not be published in
Departmental advice from September 2015

There should be a fuller review of the national pay framework in future - to
ensure it enables schools to attract and retain high calibre graduates in an
increasingly competitive labour market
2015 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document
 Information from the DfE in June regarding publication of the draft 2015
STPCD:
Following the election of a new government in May, Ministers are
currently considering their priorities and ensuring the Department is
well-placed to meet these over the course of this Parliament. This
means we are not yet in a position where we are able to share a draft
of the revised document.

We may be looking at early to mid-July for publication of the draft, which will
trigger the start of the consultation

It is doubtful that the draft will stray from the recommendations of the STRB
DfE view
 Schools are free to adopt, within the statutory pay ranges, whatever system of
pay scales they see fit

Many schools have opted to retain a six point main and three point upper pay
range, while others have chosen a different approach

STPCD 2014 allows for individual staff to have a pay progression without
reference to particular points

Councils should not influence Schools’ decisions on what pay scales they
adopt

There will be no salary points (other than min and max of each scale) in
STPCD 1015 and no ‘discretionary national reference points ’ published by
DfE outside of that document ‘for reference if required’
Southend Schools 2014/15
 The almost universal feedback from schools was that they wanted to embrace
the performance management requirements but to do that against a structure
of scales and set points as previously set out

Schools also expressed the view that there were advantages in having
comparable pay structures across the Borough schools

HR Services' Model Teachers Pay policy 2014 therefore set out those scales
and points – the only change being two points inserted into the Upper Range
to allow annual progression if performance warranted it
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
Informal feedback has been that customer schools have largely adopted the
Model Policy and been able to decide on pay progression based on
performance
Southend Schools 2015/16?
 Do schools want HR Services (not ‘the Borough Council’!) to produce a Model
Pay Policy 2015?

Do Schools want to have the option of set points on pay scales (which would
come either from NEOST or HR recalculating the current salary points)?

If so, should it include specifically:
– Progression by more than one point for excellent performance?
– Ability to request to go to Upper before reaching max of Main?

Do Schools want an alternative option within the Policy to allow them to pay
additional extra amounts to teachers individually (abandon the pay scales
except for max and min)?
Jim Gray
HR Services for Schools
1st July 2015
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