ABSTRACT

Performance management needs to be part of the school culture if it is to be successful. It differs from the statutory appraisal programme that was pursued in the early 1990s in being more all-embracing and focusing more on raising standards. The climate and culture of a school stem from the vision which guides all who work in it. Where there is shared vision and values there is likely to be trust and where there is trust people are more likely to be ready to share their problems and find ways to move forward together. Schools need collegiality. Teachers need to work together to meet the demands of pupils. A secondary school is a complex organisation consisting of a number of small teams - the senior management team, departmental teams, year group teams, working groups for different purposes, and so on. The effectiveness of the school depends upon the effectiveness of the teams within the school.