To say that appraisals and performance-related pay are not the most popular concepts in schools at the moment is probably something of an understatement.

This leads to an interesting thought: as a result of this situation there’s little doubt that the only way to implement the new legislation without causing a lot of upset and difficulty is to use a standard, transparent approach throughout the school.

Better still is the idea of using a purpose-built approach, which not only handles all the data but also fits in exactly with DfE and teaching union guidance.

What is needed is a system which links lesson observation with objectives and standards frameworks allowing you to collect evidence using one system throughout the school.

This means that everyone experiences the new approach to pay and conditions in the same way, and everyone recognises that they are being treated in the same manner as all their colleagues.

At the same time what is needed is a system that gives you and your colleagues in the leadership team up-to-date observation reports and data for the whole school.

This not only enables you to make decisions and focus attention on issues as they emerge, but also means that when Ofsted comes calling you can show at once what you have been doing to abide by the new regulations.

There is a further benefit here, because a system such as the one described also sets the scene for the continuing professional development that is relevant to the entire school and supports your key improvement targets

Thus as time goes by the system records and stores lesson observations, identifies development and training needs and builds a portfolio of evidence mapped to objectives and standards for each member of staff.

Such is the thinking behind Filio – an approach to the 2013 pay and conditions regulations that works across the whole school, allows everyone to understand that they are all being treated in the same way and fits perfectly in both primary and secondary schools, with both teaching and non teaching staff.

If you would like to see a demo please email me at Sarah.Ridgway@filio.co.uk or call 07966 338059.

You can read more about it at http://www.filio.co.uk/