Association of Teachers and Lecturers
EXCELLENT TEACHER SCHEME – APPLICATION PACKS
Application Packs are now available for teachers who wish to apply for Excellent Teacher posts from 1 September 2006.
Unfortunately, the documents are too large to attach to this email. I have, however, attached the note which clarifies the position for those teachers not statutorily covered by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document. You will note from this that teachers in the independent sector are not currently eligible to apply for the Excellent Teacher Scheme at this time.
There are 3 packs available (one for England ; one for Wales in English; and one for Wales in Welsh).
The packs can be downloaded from:-
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/payandperformance/pay/Excellent_Teacher_Scheme/
Hard copies can be obtained from Prolog on 0845 60 222 60 using the following reference numbers:
Excellent Teacher Application Pack ( England ) - 0164-2006DBW-EN
Excellent Teacher Application Pack ( Wales ) - 0276-2006DOC-EN
Excellent Teacher Scheme: Teachers not statutorily covered by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document
Further details
Context
1. The Excellent Teacher Scheme (ETS) enables schools to create posts for Excellent Teachers. The first appointments can take effect on 1 September 2006 , after applicants have been assessed against the ETS standards. The guidance on the ETS issued in May 2005 sets out the role and expectations, the standards, the application process, and the arrangements for external assessment and appointment of Excellent Teachers. It can be found at [insert link].
2. To be eligible for an ETS post, teachers must:
• have been paid on U3 for not less than two years when they take up post;
• be willing to meet the expectations of an Excellent Teacher; and
• either (a) be employed in a school where a vacancy for an Excellent Teacher exists and have been assessed as having met the ETS standards, or (b) have been assessed as having met the AST standards.
3. Statutory provision for the ETS will be made in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2005.
Teachers employed in schools or services similar to the maintained sector
4. The Department has decided that certain qualified teachers who are not statutorily covered by the STPCD but are employed in schools and services that closely resemble the maintained sector should be eligible to apply for assessment against the ETS standards. These are as follows:
• teachers employed in City Technology Colleges;
• teachers employed in Academies;
• teachers employed in non-maintained special schools (NMSS);
• teachers employed in MOD schools;
• teachers previously employed by an LEA whose employment has been transferred to a contractor as a result of DfES intervention; and
• teachers employed by local authorities who work in children's homes maintained by an authority .
5. Some of the teachers in the above settings will have contracts of employment that tie their pay and conditions of service to those in the STPCD. For these teachers, the eligibility rules are exactly the same as for teachers in maintained schools. These are set out in paragraphs 18 to 20 of the ETS guidance.
6. Where teachers' pay and conditions of service differ from those in the STPCD, to be eligible for an ETS post, teachers must:
• have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a DfES number
• have acquired a minimum of 6 years post-threshold teaching experience when they take up post;
• be willing to meet the expectations of an Excellent Teacher; and
• either (a) be employed in a setting where a vacancy for an Excellent Teacher exists and have been assessed as having met the ETS standards or (b) have been assessed as having met the AST standards.
7. The decision to create ETS posts – and the remuneration attached to such posts - is entirely a matter for these settings.
8. Details of the external assessment process are currently being developed. The DfES will meet the cost of the assessments. We plan to publish guidance in the 2006 spring term and to have arrangements in place so that assessments can start in April 2006.
9. Once a teacher has been assessed as having met the ETS standards they are eligible to apply for an ETS post in any setting.
Teachers employed in independent schools
10. Due, in part, to the anticipated level of demand for external assessment in the early years of the ETS, teachers employed in independent schools (except CTCs and Academies) will not be eligible to apply for the ETS at this stage. Once the scheme is embedded, the Department may consider opening up the ETS to independent schools. In the meantime, any teacher who moves from an independent school to a maintained school can, once eligible, apply for an ETS post in the same way as teachers already serving in that sector.
Department for Education and Skills
May 2005