Union leaders in the South West say the introduction of performance related pay (PRP) will ‘worsen teacher morale’.

Andy Woolley from the largest teaching union, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said it will be ‘a real distraction from the teaching and learning that should be the focus of schools’ work’.

The regional secretary for the South West said PRP was ‘fundamentally inappropriate for teaching’, and said there was no evidence it increased results.

“Individual pay decisions will result in unfairness and less mobility in the teacher job market,” he added.