THE HON PETER GARRETT MP

Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth 25 November 2011

Top teachers to be rewarded

The best teachers in Australia will be recognised through a staged implementation of the reward payment scheme linked to the first National Professional Standards for Teachers, School Education Minister Peter Garrett said today. Under improvements to the Reward Payments for Great Teachers initiative, teachers who are accredited to the highest level of the standards will be rewarded with $7500 for Highly Accomplished teachers and $10,000 for teachers who achieve the Lead Teacher level. In line with the Governments election commitment, the first reward payments will be delivered in 2014 for teachers who have been assessed against the standards in 2013. A new performance and development framework for teachers will also be introduced in schools across Australia from 2013 as part of the implementation of the reward payments scheme. Funding for the initiative will increase over time as more teachers are assessed, and as the standards and new performance framework are implemented in schools and school systems. The Teacher Standards are worlds best practice and raise the bar on teacher quality, Mr Garrett said. By aligning our rewards with the standards, were ensuring that those teachers who go the extra yard will be recognised. We know that these teachers are not motivated by salary or kudos but that doesnt mean they shouldnt be celebrated and rewarded for their work. The Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework will deliver a yearly appraisal of every teacher in every school. The best teachers will be encouraged to work towards and apply for accreditation as a Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher under the new standards, Mr Garrett said. The staged implementation of the reward payments is designed to coincide with the rollout of the National Teacher Standards and also gives us the opportunity to help bring the budget back into surplus. This is good news for teachers and schools and good news for Australian families, he said. In the first year funding is available for at least 8000 teachers to receive the bonus and this will increase in future years as the standards and performance framework is rolled out to full implementation in January 2015. These will be our top teachers, the ones who have achieved outstanding results in the classroom, played a leadership role in their school communities, mentored other staff and inspired their students to reach their full potential.

Mr Garrett said the details of the scheme had been finalised following extensive feedback from teachers and education stakeholders. The changes also take into account the latest international evidence from the OECD which says that effective teacher appraisal and development should occur within a framework of agreed standards of professional practice. Funding under the scheme will be $225 million over the four years to 2014-15. The savings in the cost of the scheme are made during the early years of the seven-year initiative and will not impact on delivery of the original commitment to develop a nationally consistent performance and development framework and recognise our best teachers with a reward payment. Mr Garrett said under the new performance framework all teachers will receive regular and constructive feedback on their progress, as well as opportunities for further professional development. The framework will set out the aspects of a teachers performance that will be assessed and will include lesson observations, student results, parental feedback, and contribution to the school community. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) will work closely with all stakeholders to develop the new framework, as well as the certification process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers. The certification process will be robust and transparent, giving the public confidence that our top teachers are being properly recognised and rewarded, Mr Garrett said. Teachers perform one of the most important jobs in our society and these changes will provide strong career development structure and bonuses for those teachers who are working hard every day to educate our kids. Ministers Media Contact: Lisa Miller DEEWR Media: media@deewr.gov.au Non-media queries: 1300 363 079