£10k bonus for new Nova Hreod teachers (From Swindon Advertiser)

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£10k bonus for new Nova Hreod teachers

7:50am Wednesday 14th January 2009 in News Photograph of the Author By Sarah Hilley

GOOD teachers could be offered £10,000 in extra pay to entice them to work in Nova Hreod School.

The cash incentive from the Government aims to boost achievement in poor performing schools.

From September Nova Hreod may have the chance to attract the best teachers in the country through the scheme, as it is on the Government’s National Challenge hit list.

About 500 schools and 6,000 teachers in England are expected to benefit from the move, and costs will be divided between schools and Whitehall budgets.

South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove said: “The new measure will allow headteachers to get the best teachers in the schools where they are needed the most and keep them there.

“Offering golden handcuff payments of £10,000 for three years of service will benefit schools across Swindon.”

The idea has been outlined in a social mobility white paper from the Government.

Research has shown that children in Britain are less likely than those in other developed countries to move up the social ladder and get better jobs than their parents.

Ministers believe improving results among children with deprived backgrounds will help lead to a fairer society.

The average teacher’s salary, including performance-related pay, is more than £34,000.

But Councillor Garry Perkins, Swindon Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, dismisses the move as bribery of teachers.

“At the end of the day they are attempting to bribe teachers,” Coun Perkins said. “I thought teaching was always about being a vocational job. This would not be necessary if we had an education system that was fit for purpose.

“Rather than pay teachers more, the Government should allow teachers the freedom to educate children.”

He believes a soft approach to education is driving standards down.

“In developing countries, if you are not educated you starve so education means far much more,” he said.

“Failure seems to be rewarded by this government.”

But North Swindon MP Michael Wills is urging qualifying schools to apply. He said: “I very much welcome this investment in education.

“I hope that every school in Swindon which is eligible will apply for it.”

Nova Hreod School said headteacher Julie Tridgell was unavailable for comment.

l See tomorrow’s Adver for the latest school league tables

Comments(14)

Always Grumpy says...
8:41am Wed 14 Jan 09

Of course, after tax and deductions that £10000 over three years equates to around an extra £1300 a year take home pay. Not altogther a sparkling amount of extra pay on condition you stay at the school for three years.

Also, I believe the school will need to fund 50% of the £10000, so paying this to say 50 teachers will cost the school an extra quarter of a million pounds over three years. The school will have to find that sum from existing budgets, so something will have to go to find that sort of money.

Yet another desperate attempt by this inept government to try and rescue a school system they have allowed to fail miserably over the last 10 years. Snelgrove clearly has no idea what she is talking about any more than the likes of Education Secretary Ed Balls.

A radical overhaul of the system is required, starting by ditching the pointless government targets that act like a ball and chain to schools, a return to teaching skills, a dramatic improvement in school discipline, less of this multicultural nonsense and a return to a more traditional curriculum and teaching methods. The SAT tests were a total waste of time and have thankfully been ditched, but that is only a start to what is really needed and that is a change of government.