Best teachers 'deserve higher pay'

The best teachers should be rewarded with higher pay than their colleagues, according to new proposals from MPs.

Teachers adding the most to pupils' performance should be financially rewarded, the Commons Education Select Committee said.

In a new report, the influential committee examined the best ways of recruiting and retaining the best teachers.

Evidence has shown that very good teachers boost pupils' grades and make a significant difference to their students' future earnings, it said.

The report calls for the Department for Education to develop plans for a pay system which rewards teachers who add the greatest value to pupil performance.

"We acknowledge the potential political and practical difficulties in introducing such a system, but the comparative impact of an outstanding teacher is so great that we believe such difficulties must be overcome," it says.

But Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: "Payment by results is total nonsense. Children are not tins of beans and schools are not factory production lines. Successful schools rely on a collegiate approach and team working.

"Performance-related pay (PRP) is not only inappropriate but also divisive. Children and young people differ and class intakes differ from year to year, making it impossible to measure progress in simplistic terms.

"PRP will create even more difficulties for schools facing the most challenges because teachers will realise that they will get no thanks for teaching their students but will get more money by going elsewhere."

The report also proposes teenagers be put in charge of lessons to encourage them to train as teachers. "Teaching taster classes" should be offered to sixth-formers and undergraduates to show them the benefits of a career in the profession, the committee said.