Performance Related Pay (PRP) for teachers
From September 2014, a new performance-linked pay framework for teachers in England came into effect.
The main changes to the existing system were:
- Removing pay progression based on length of service and linking all pay progression to performance.
- Giving schools the option of increasing individual teachers’ pay at different rates based on their performance.
- Replacing the current threshold test for progression from the main to the upper pay range with new simpler criteria.
- Discontinuing the current Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) and Excellent Teacher (ET) designations and creating a new pay range for leading practitioners whose primary purpose is to model and lead the improvement of teaching skills.
- Giving schools more freedom to determine starting salaries of teachers new to the school.
- Removing any obligation on schools when recruiting to match a teacher’s existing salary.
Implementation flowchart of the appraisal and pay determination cycle

For further detail, see Roles and responsibilities for determining pay progression (DfE 2013)