Students in the final year of their teacher-training course should be paid, say headteachers.
In a joint submission to the review body, the National Association of Head Teachers and the Secondary Heads Association fear the new tuition fees for students will particularly hit those studying for a post-graduate certificate in education, saddling them with an extra year’s debt.
The heads say the training wage should be extended through to the first induction year.
School governors are also demanding a greater say in pay. Pat Petch, chair of the National Governors’ Council, which represents governors in about half of local education authorities, said: “We need to look at who has an interest in deciding teachers’ pay and conditions.
“Governing bodies have substantial responsibilities for teachers’ pay and conditions and are the effective employers, but do not have a real voice in deciding what they should be.
“We need to consider from scratch how the various interests should be represented in discussions. For several years we have had pay settlements with no matching funding and yet have had to find the money from somewhere.”
The council says it supports the suggestion made by the Education Secretary in his remit to the review body that heads should report to governing bodies annually on teachers’ performance and recommend action against any member of staff whose performance is unacceptable.
“Employers should have an absolute right of access to employee performance data including appraisal outcomes,” said Mrs Petch.