It is Saturday morning and I open the papers to yet another chapter in the thoughts of Sir Michael Wilshaw. Two key themes shine through. First, performance management should determine pay progression. Nothing new here, but his statement “40 per cent of lessons overall were not good enough. And yet everyone is getting a pay rise,” is a classic sound bite. Of course “everyone” is not getting a pay rise. Second, his description of “someone who is out the gate at 3pm” almost defies comment. It is hard enough to break down the general public’s strongly held misconception that teachers lead a 39-week, Monday to Friday, 9am-3pm existence, without the leading voice in education helping to perpetuate it.

Ian Care, Advanced skills teacher, Worcester.