Performance-related pay for teachers has never added up

How do you assess empathy? How would you create a metric against which to measure it in someone’s job performance?

Performance-related pay for teachers (upon which the curtain will soon be drawn) was surely an idea dreamed up in a politician’s office, without any apparent understanding of the jobs they do – or of the importance of qualities the best teachers possess in abundance.

Want to know how worthwhile a child’s teacher really is? Just ask the parents. They’ll soon tell you how readily they go the extra mile, how happy their son or daughter is at school, how much (or little) they’re improving. Don’t believe me? Just take a peek in any school WhatsApp group.