Teachers to get £2,000 bonuses

Senior teachers will be able to apply for the money

Almost half the teachers in Northern Ireland are in line to get £2,000 pay rises - backdated to last April.

The increases follow seven months of negotiations between teachers' unions and employers.

They are similar to the performance bonuses in England and Wales - but without the most controversial clause, linking teachers' pay to pupils' exam results.

About half of the 24,000 teachers in Northern Ireland are on sufficiently senior grades to be eligible to apply for the extra money.

The BBC's Northern Ireland education correspondent, Maggie Taggart, says the unions and employers believe they have found a workable compromise on the England and Wales formula which will give the money to more than 90% of the eligible teachers.

Strings

They will have to demonstrate:

• That they have improved pupil's achievements, not purely in exam results
• that they understand the curriculum and their own subject
• that they can teach well
• that they will continue training to improve their professional skills.

The payment will be backdated to April 2000 but the paperwork involved is likely to mean it will be June or September before they see the new money.

The total cost of about £26m has already been set aside by the Treasury to pay for the rises.

Teachers' union leaders and the employers are pleased they have managed to hammer out a deal which they believe will be supported by most teachers, compared with that in England and Wales which has alienated many.

There is no similar scheme in Scotland, where unions and employers have just agreed a 21.5% rise in basic pay over three years.