Letter: Rewarding teachers

Sir: The simplest way to introduce performance-related pay for teachers is to employ them on fixed-term contracts of no more than five years.

In the vast majority of cases jobs would be renewed and, the better the teacher, the better the deal he or she could cut with the school's governors. The incompetent or idle would be warned in good time that their contracts were unlikely to be renewed on present performance. They would improve or pay the consequences.

A simple set of rules would include safeguards to protect senior teachers on higher salaries from losing out to younger, cheaper colleagues.

By comparison with the payment-by-results scheme as outlined by the Government, fixed-term contracts are hassle-free and bring the teaching profession into the real world.

RICHARD WELCH

Denbigh,

North Wales