ABSTRACT
When it conies to the formal evaluation of the performance of colleagues many middle managers seem to get cold feet, despite making informal judgements about members of their team day in and day out. Yet evaluating performance of self and others is a key aspect of middle management. In future, the most successful individuals and schools are likely to be those who are the most effective learners. In a supportive culture individuals should be able to see that, ultimately, the pupils gain from the evaluation of teachers, because the purpose of the exercise is to improve teaching and thus pupil performance. With a national agenda for improving performance in schools some politicians would like to see appraisal formally linked to teachers’ pay and promotion.
