Unsatisfactory progress or other concerns

Concerns about NQT's personal life affecting their progress

In all cases full written records must be kept of observations and meetings. These will be scrutinised in the event of a failure and in the event of an appeal to the GTCE.

Please download full EPS Guidance notes on this.

If the education of children is seriously affected by the capability of the NQT, the head may wish to consider instigating a capability procedure at any stage before the end of induction, which may lead to dismissal. This is usually avoided by the Term 2 meeting with EPS described below, followed by union advice to the NQT on their options regarding continuing employment. Please contact Hampshire's NQT Co-ordinator (02380 383530) for further advice on this procedure if you need to consider it.

Please read the term by term overview below:

Term 1
If the NQT is not making satisfactory progress towards eventual achievement of the Core Standards, action should be immediate - don't delay until a formal assessment meeting. The Headteacher (or Secondary Induction Manager) should:

observe the NQT teaching
meet the NQT (and make written notes of the meeting) to ensure that they are aware of the concerns about progress and which standards they are not meeting
discuss with the NQT the support that is already in place plus any additional support the NQT would like, and ensure that this support is put in place. Document this.
inform the Local Authority’s NQT team of the concerns (02380 383530)
increase the number of formal observations from the minimum 2 per term so that regular consecutive assessments can be made of progress
provide the NQT with a schedule of observations, the focus for each and the name of the observer
ensure that the NQT self-evaluates immediately after each observation
ensure that all observations and the results of feedback are formally recorded

Term 2
If the NQT is still not making satisfactory progress and is deemed to be at risk of failing to complete induction, inform the Local Authority NQT Induction team before half term. Before half term the Headteacher should:

observe the NQT teaching and review the available evidence
if the Headteacher is the Induction Tutor, request another member of staff also to observe and review the evidence
request the SIP (primary) or subject inspector (secondary) to observe the NQT teaching, feed back and advise the NQT, and report to the head. (The cost of this would be covered by the school.)
write to the NQT informing them formally of the areas causing concern and arranging a meeting to discuss the concerns and the NQT’s targets, to formulate strategies and to discuss the implications of failure. (See below for sample letter). This meeting should be held as early as possible to allow the NQT enough time to show sustained improvement before the end of term, and to take advice on their position regarding the third term.

Letter from Headteacher notifying NQT of meeting in Term 2
(Following recent lesson observations/my recent observation..… ) In view of concerns about your progress towards meeting all the Core Professional Standards at the end of your third term, a meeting has been arranged to discuss these concerns and the strategies and support that have been, or will be, put in place to help you to meet the Standards. The meeting will take place in (venue) on (date) at (time). Present will be …. (your Induction Tutor), ….. (Headteacher and/or secondary Induction Manager) . If you wish you may be accompanied by your professional association representative. The HCC NQT Induction Team (02380 383530) can provide you with the name of a professional association representative who is particularly experienced in NQT issues. Prior to this meeting one of your lessons will be observed by (name - external observer), who will then feed back to you verbally and provide me with a written report. Points raised by him/her will be discussed at the above meeting

Letter from Headteacher notifying NQT of meeting in Term 2

(Following recent lesson observations/my recent observation..… ) In view of concerns about your progress towards meeting all the Core Professional Standards at the end of your third term, a meeting has been arranged to discuss these concerns and the strategies and support that have been, or will be, put in place to help you to meet the Standards.

The meeting will take place in (venue) on (date) at (time). Present will be …. (your Induction Tutor), ….. (Headteacher and/or secondary Induction Manager) . If you wish you may be accompanied by your professional association representative. The HCC NQT Induction Team (02380 383530) can provide you with the name of a professional association representative who is particularly experienced in NQT issues.

Prior to this meeting one of your lessons will be observed by (name - external observer), who will then feed back to you verbally and provide me with a written report. Points raised by him/her will be discussed at the above meeting

consult with the representative from Education Personnel Services as to whether they also need to attend the meeting

Towards the end of term

hold the formal assessment meeting and invite the NQT to be accompanied by a professional association representative or friend. The Headteacher discusses and records identified weaknesses and the relevant Core Standards; agreed objectives set in relation to the Core Standards; planned support; evidence used to inform the judgement
complete the termly assessment form indicating if the NQT is at risk of failing to meet the Standards at the end of the year, and attach a record of the assessment meeting
write formally to the NQT (see sample letter below) referring to the meeting and listing the concerns, the Core Standards, the targets and the criteria for judging whether the targets have been met; itemising the support the school will be providing; briefly stating the legal position regarding NQTs who fail induction, i.e. they may not teach in maintained schools or non-maintained special schools; emphasising the school’s anticipation that the NQT will, with effort, be able to meet all the Core Standards after three terms (if appropriate) but that if substantial progress is not evident early in the following term, a further meeting will be arranged to discuss this

Letter from Headteacher at the end of Term 2
With reference to our meeting held on ….. when we discussed my concerns about your rate of progress during your NQT Induction Year, I am writing to confirm the outcome of the meeting and to clarify the actions to be taken. Some areas were identified as needing improvement/development and/or needing you to demonstrate consistency, namely ….. Attached is a list of the Core Standards that have been identified as priorities for development, your targets, the criteria we will use for assessing whether the targets have been met, and the support already in place plus the additional support we will provide to help you. …... and I will carry out regular formal observations over the rest of this term and next term, and a schedule is attached. Some short, informal and unplanned observations will also be carried out, to ensure that teaching and learning and classroom management are satisfactory at all times, not just during a formal observation. This rigorous pattern of observations, feedback and monitoring is intended to provide you with appropriate feedback and support, so that you can show significant progress against your priority Standards. The additional support you have already received from colleagues will continue. We all want you to succeed but you still need to demonstrate by the end of the induction year that you are able to manage the learning of your class independently and that you are meeting all the Induction Standards; and I need to see evidence that you are making clear progress towards this. I must emphasise that if in my judgement you fail to meet all the Core Standards at the end of your third term, and if the Local Authority ratifies this judgement, you would be unable in the future to teach in a maintained school or non-maintained special school (subject to your right of appeal the GTCE). If you have any queries about the content of this letter, the targets that you have been set or the support provided, please let me know as soon as possible. I enclose a second copy for you to forward to your Professional Association representative and urge you to seek their advice and support during the remainder of your induction period.

Letter from Headteacher at the end of Term 2

With reference to our meeting held on ….. when we discussed my concerns about your rate of progress during your NQT Induction Year, I am writing to confirm the outcome of the meeting and to clarify the actions to be taken. Some areas were identified as needing improvement/development and/or needing you to demonstrate consistency, namely …..

Attached is a list of the Core Standards that have been identified as priorities for development, your targets, the criteria we will use for assessing whether the targets have been met, and the support already in place plus the additional support we will provide to help you.

…... and I will carry out regular formal observations over the rest of this term and next term, and a schedule is attached. Some short, informal and unplanned observations will also be carried out, to ensure that teaching and learning and classroom management are satisfactory at all times, not just during a formal observation. This rigorous pattern of observations, feedback and monitoring is intended to provide you with appropriate feedback and support, so that you can show significant progress against your priority Standards.

The additional support you have already received from colleagues will continue. We all want you to succeed but you still need to demonstrate by the end of the induction year that you are able to manage the learning of your class independently and that you are meeting all the Induction Standards; and I need to see evidence that you are making clear progress towards this.

I must emphasise that if in my judgement you fail to meet all the Core Standards at the end of your third term, and if the Local Authority ratifies this judgement, you would be unable in the future to teach in a maintained school or non-maintained special school (subject to your right of appeal the GTCE).

If you have any queries about the content of this letter, the targets that you have been set or the support provided, please let me know as soon as possible. I enclose a second copy for you to forward to your Professional Association representative and urge you to seek their advice and support during the remainder of your induction period.

send a copy of the assessment report, meeting report and letter to the Local Authority’s NQT Co-ordinator at EPS
with the NQT Co-ordinator ensure that the assessment is well-founded and accurate; weaknesses have been correctly identified; appropriate objectives have been set to remedy weaknesses; a relevant support programme is in place to help the NQT to overcome identified weaknesses

Term 3

If the NQT is still at risk of failing in the final term, an inspector should again be requested to observe to corroborate the Head’s judgement. The NQT should have full feedback and, if they have not already consulted their professional association, should be strongly advised to do so. The NQT is given copies of documentation of meetings and observations etc since the beginning of induction.

A further meeting must be held before half term with a representative from EPS and the NQT’s professional association representative, when the seriousness of the concerns will be clarified and the NQT’s options will be discussed. These might include a resignation before half term, and in this case the NQT will be able to restart the final term elsewhere.

If the NQT remains at the school and at the final assessment meeting the Headteacher makes the judgement that the NQT has not met the Core Standards and so must be failed, the LA’s NQT Co-ordinator must be notified of this well before the meeting is held. A Local Authority Panel is held before the end of each term to consider such cases (or borderline passes) and the Headteacher, the Induction Tutor, the NQT and the NQT’s professional assocation representative are all required to attend. All paperwork from the whole year will be scrutinised and prior to the meeting the school must provide all panel members and the NQT with copies of all documentation.

If the failure is ratified by the LA panel, the NQT will not be allowed to teach pending any appeal to the GTCE and the school must secure the NQT’s resignation or dismissal before the end of term.

Concerns about an NQT’s personal life affecting their performance

Sometimes it will be clear that an NQT has the potential to be a satisfactory teacher, but personal circumstances are affecting this and contributing to lack of progress, stress and/or ill health.

In these circumstances the NQT should be advised to contact their professional association, and it is often advisable for a meeting to be arranged between the NQT and a representative from the EPS NQT Induction team, with little or no input from the Headteacher or Induction Tutor. The NQT will often be able to discuss these issues more freely with someone from outside the school but who understands the pressures of the NQT year. Sometimes a relatively small adjustment to their duties (e.g. relinquishing a tutor group) or advice on organising workloads may ease the pressure on the NQT sufficiently to improve the situation; but in some cases it is appropriate for the NQT to leave teaching for a while and EPS will negotiate this with the NQT, their professional assocation and the headteacher.