| What is the McCrone
Report?
May 2000 saw the
publication of “A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century” under the chairmanship
of Gavin McCrone. The McCrone Committee was established in September
1999 to consider and make recommendations on:
· How teachers’
pay, promotion structures and conditions of service should be changed in
order to ensure a committed, professional and flexible teaching force which
will secure high and improving standards of schools education for all children
in Scotland.
· The future
arrangements for determining teachers’ pay and conditions in Scotland following
the removal of the statutory basis of the Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee
(School Education) now proposed by the Scottish Executive.
What does it recommend?
The McCrone Report
made several important recommendations. The key ones are as follows:
New Career Structure
· Four main
grades based on: a main classroom grade; a middle management grade including
principal teachers; a senior grade called depute head teacher and the retention
of the head teacher grade
· A twin-track
career structure based on "chartered" status for teachers, which will involve
personal achievement rather than a post
· Chartered
status to be introduced by April 2002 and an "advanced chartered teacher"
status would also be introduced
New Working Conditions
· Contractual
working week of 35 hours
· 30 hours
to be spent on "core" activities like class teaching, preparation and correction
· Remaining
five hours for school-wide collective activities
· Same working
week in primary and secondary schools
· Working
year increased to 200 days to cover extra training
· System of
"performance management" to include appraisal
· National
standards on capability and a new system for discipline and dismissal in
cases of capability and conduct.
Pay
· Pay structures
designed to "recruit, retain and motivate", creating a "transparent and
flexible" pay structure that "rewards and recognises excellence in the
classroom"
· All teachers
to get salary increases of between 8% and 12% in 2001
· Starting
salary of £17,000
· Maximum
salary for classroom teachers of £26,000; chartered teachers up to
£29,000; advanced chartered teachers up to £34,000
· Principal
teachers up to £34,000, deputy heads up to £44,000, headteachers
up to £61,5000
· Heads to
be able to make extra discretionary payments of up to £1,000 for
teachers who undertake special responsibilities (this could be paid hourly
in smaller schools)
Future Deals
· Pay to be
determined by free collective bargaining through a national negotiating
committee
· Committee
to work on an annual cycle, but with the ability to strike deals of up
to three years
· Flexibility
for local negotiation on core conditions, subject to approval at national
level
· Head teachers'
organisations and the Scottish Executive to be represented
· Small independent
body to report every three years on the value of teachers' salaries compared
with other professions and other key data
Other recommendations
· Substantial
increase in classroom assistants in primary schools, and introduction of
"para-professionals" in secondaries - especially in the first two years
· Teacher
workload to be monitored, including a "bureaucracy audit"
· More investigation
of possibilities for early retirement and the "winding down" of careers
· Research
needed into effects of class sizes on pupil attainment
· Review of
initial teacher training
· Stable employment
contracts for probationer teachers
· Limits to
temporary contracts
· One-term
sabbaticals every 10 years
· Bursars
(senior administrative officers) for larger schools or clusters of smaller
ones
· Social inclusion
to be adequately resourced; pupil indiscipline to be tackled.
How has the Scottish
Executive responded to these recommendations?
The Executive welcomed
the publication of the McCrone Report and established an implementation
group, to be chaired by the Minister for Education, which would review
the report and make recommendations for policy implementation. In
January 2001, this group finalised its discussion and Jack McConnell announced
the package which would be put in place for our teachers, schools and pupils.
Therefore the Executive
is committed to the following recommendations:
Recognising and
rewarding each teacher for the professional skills they bring to the school
· A minimum salary increase of 23.1%
for all teachers over 3 years.
· Salary increases which are distributed
fairly across all grades.
Giving each teacher
a genuine opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge to keep pace
with the changing demands made of them
· The opportunity for continuous
professional development for all teachers which is accessible and open
to all.
· A commitment to 35 hours a year
in addition to the current working year, for professional development from
all teachers.
· Responsibility of all employers
to ensure that quality CPD is available.
· A national register of approved
CPD providers.
· Working with employers and unions
to agree national standards of competence.
Recognising that
the skill of teaching is about more than the work done in the classroom
· Giving all teachers a personal
allowance of one third of class contact time for them to use for preparation
and correction.
· Making the maximum for class contact
time equal across primary and secondary schools so that primary teachers
have more time to develop the curriculum and assess pupils.
Relieving teachers
of the burden of bureaucracy and giving them the time to teach
· Introducing additional support
staff to cover the full range of jobs, particularly bursar, administration,
IT and classroom assistant.
· National school based bureaucracy
audit to reduce level of administration demands made on schools.
Recognising excellence
in the classroom
· Introduction of Chartered Teacher
status, open to all classroom teachers and secured through a qualification
based programme.
· Introduction of Chartered Teacher
salary grade which offers pay recognition for advanced teaching and learning
skills.
Treating teachers
as professionals
· Removing the restrictive national
prescription on how teachers manage their working time.
· Involving teachers in decision
making and planning in schools.
Attracting and
retaining the best of our young talent to the profession
· 1 year training placement guarantee
to all probationer teachers.
· Significant increases in probationer
salaries and the starting salary for fully qualified teacher.
Recognising local
authorities as the managers of education
· Increasing flexibility available
to local authorities to manage their resources in a way which meets local
needs and priorities.
· New local negotiating committees
with increased responsibility.
Ending the ‘feast
or famine’ approach to teachers’ pay
· 3 year agreement on pay and conditions.
· National negotiating structure
which will operate through consensus.
· Giving Scottish Negotiating Committee
the power to commission independent studies on issues they are involved
with – such as pay.
Will this improve
standards of education in Scotland?
Yes it will. This will allow our
best and most ambitious teachers the opportunity to stay in the classroom.
Too often in the past, the only way for teachers to reach the top of their
profession has been to take up administrative, managerial posts in the
school. The introduction of “Chartered” teacher status will allow
some of our best teachers to remain doing what they do best whilst advancing
their career.
This package is also designed to ensure
that our education system attracts the best graduates and competes with
other sectors. This is the only way to ensure high standards for
our children.
As well as this, teachers will now be free
from such a heavy administrative burden and will be allowed to devote more
time to their pupils and teaching.
How will this be
funded?
This will be funded entirely by central
government (the Scottish Executive). Local authorities will not be
required to spend any more on school education than they do at present.
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