Performance_Management

Performance management is the process for assessing the overall performance of a teacher or head teacher, in the context of the individual's job description and the provisions of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, and making plans for the individual's future development in the context of the school's improvement plan. Professional standards provide the backdrop to discussions about performance and future development. The standards define the professional attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills for teachers at each career stage. (p3) "Performance management is the process for assessing the overall performance of a teacher or head teacher, in the context of the individual's job description and the provisions of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, and making plans for the individual's future development in the context of the school's improvement plan. Professional standards provide the backdrop to discussions about performance and future development. The standards define the professional attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills for teachers at each career stage." (p3) Performance Management for support staff has lagged behind, but the position is being redressed. In 2007 the Minister of State for Schools invited representatives of support staff unions and employers, including the Foundation and Aided Schools' National Association (FASNA), to establish a Support Staff Working Group. Following this The Children's Plan Building Brighter Futures reaffirmed ministerial commitment to establishing a new Negotiating Body for support staff. In September 2008, DCSF announced a package of reforms to strengthen standards in schools and help the school workforce to carry out their duties more effectively, including the formal inception of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). The following extract from the Children's Plan – Building Brighter Futures, DCSF 2007, demonstrates the movement DCSF have made away from their original single focus upon performance management only for teachers. The plan sets out the government's ambition to: develop a world class workforce able to provide highly personalised support, so we can continue to drive up quality and capacity for those working in the children's workforce. "develop a world class workforce able to provide highly personalised support, so we can continue to drive up quality and capacity for those working in the children's workforce." In its latest guise, performance management is for all members of the school (and wider children's services workforce). Its prime purpose is to enable all such staff to contribute, to the greatest extent possible, to maximising desired pupil outcomes across all strands of the Every Child Matters agenda. The purpose of formal performance management is to: •Help identify and celebrate the individual's strengths •Help identify individual development areas so that these can be met in a planned way •Provide an opportunity for support staff to discuss how they can develop their skills and progress their careers