Labour’s 1999 deadline is not far removed from Conservative plans for compulsory appraisal announced in February. These envisaged that half of the teachers in each council should start appraisal by September 1 this year and all teachers by the 1998-99 session.
Tory ministers also proposed an appraisal cycle of “not less than one year and not more than two years”. Only 30 per cent of Scottish teachers had been appraised at the last count, although the rate is much lower in some councils and for unpromoted staff.