Get documents about "Employee Development Reviews (EDR)
Document Sample
A guide to
Employee Development Reviews (EDR)
for School Support Staff
Rationale:
All staff contribute to raising standards in the school, and are therefore equally
entitled to Employee Development Reviews.
Staffing structures with new job descriptions for all staff were drafted in autumn
2005
New regulations for the performance management of teachers are introduced from
September 1st 2007
Support staff play an increasingly important role in schools, and their increased
professionalism should be rewarded with a right to appropriate professional
development and a structured career path; the “new professionalism” applied to
teachers should be seen to extend to support staff.
The EDR process for support staff should be a clearly structured process which
follows a similar pattern to that of teachers. It should therefore establish clear links
with:
1. school development plan
2. job descriptions of individuals
3. school aims
4. NAPTA or other skills profile
5. competencies specific to role
6. staff development framework
and it should generate a school-wide training and development plan which includes all
members of staff. In endorsing the EDR process to the Council in November 2005, Nigel
Pearson, Chief Executive , said:
“ I think that Employee Development Reviews are the most significant part of the future of
the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
They improve both our individual and Council performance by providing opportunities for
all of us to have open and constructive feedback and identify and address our development
needs in a structured way.
They allow the Council’s aims and objectives to be effectively and consistently implemented
by cascading them through the organisation.
And they are an important element of our framework of performance management which
allows our Service Plan objectives to be translated into individual objectives for each of us.
But remember, the Employee Development Review must always be
complementary to ongoing coaching and feedback - it doesn’t replace
the regular contact between a line Line Manager and his or her staff.”
Why are we doing this?
Everyone who works for the School on a permanent or fixed-term contract is entitled to an
Employee Development Review meeting with their line line Line Manager every [insert
length of review cycle e.g.every year and usually every six months]. They should discuss:
• How their overall performance relates to the duties in their job description, and the
relevant professional standards (if available)
• How they contribute to the aims and objectives of the School and what actions they
need to take to help achieve them.
• Review past performance and training and development activities and receive
constructive feedback.
• Identify and agree future objectives and any appropriate development to achieve
them.
• EDRs should be carried out on a consistent basis and in a fair manner so that
people are encouraged and supported to improve performance. Headteachers
should consider how they might moderate these procedures to ensure fairness
and consistency.
How EDRs link into School aims
There should be a clear link between the School aims and development priorities, and
people’s own contribution and personal development:
School Aims
School Development Plan
Faculty/Year Team Plans Operational and personal objectives
Whole School Training and Development plans Individual Employee Learning and Development Plan
Employee Development Reviews
Timetable
Employee Development Reviews will normally be carried out in [insert month(s)] each year
This allows for the linking of operational objectives to School Development Plan objectives
and targets.
What are EDRs for?
Employee Development Reviews help us to:
• Link our individual roles more closely to achieving School goals.
• Link professional development activities to the needs of the School and the
individual.
• Improve the performance of individuals and teams.
• Motivate people by showing them that the School is interested in them as well as the
job.
• Ensure that our staff understand how they contribute to year/faculty team and
School targets.
• Plan for the future in relation to staff development and progression.
• Review past performance – praising good performance as well as looking at ways to
improve.
• Agree future performance objectives.
• Identify future training and development needs.
• Evaluate training and development activities.
• Consider any other support required to help in the achievement of personal or
School objectives.
• Help staff to become more interested and involved in their own job and
development needs.
• Encourage everyone to suggest ideas for how the organisation could operate more
effectively.
• Ensure that due regard is paid to staff well-being and work-life balance
Your Guide to the Employee Development Review meeting
The Employee Development Review meeting is where we all agree with our respective Line
Managers, some clear objectives to achieve over a specific time and discuss progress in an
open, positive and constructive way. Your Line Manager will also be going through the same
process with his/her Line Manager.
What’s in it for me?
Improved communications
EDRs get you and your Line Manager sitting down together, regularly and in private, to
talk about how things are going and how they can be improved. You both have the
opportunity to talk about your job and yourselves – what makes things difficult, what causes
problems, what could be improved, and so on.
Improved motivation
The EDR process makes sure you are clear about what you are meant to be doing and what
your priorities are. You have a chance to look back over the last six months, talk about
things that went well and discuss what can be done about things that didn’t go so well. You
get constructive feedback in an open and positive way to help you do your job better.
Development and Training
The Employee and Development Review meeting allows your development and training
needs to be identified in a much more structured way. It gives you the opportunity to discuss
what development you need to help you achieve your objectives and what opportunities
there might be for you in the future. Any agreed training and development needs will be
entered on your Employee Learning and Development Plan and linked to your objectives.
Improved performance
A major aim of Employee Development Reviews is to improve the achievement of the
pupils in our School and ensure that quality services are provided to our community. Your
EDR will help you to improve your own performance, but clearly you do not work in
isolation. By each of us jointly identifying and agreeing with our Line Manager ways to
resolve problems, it should result in improved performance from both your Line Manager
and your colleagues.
How it works
1. Your Line Manager will arrange an Employee Development Review meeting with
you giving you at least two weeks’ notice.
2. Before the meeting, you should receive:
• A copy of your job description
• A copy of the School Development Plan
• A record of any training you have attended
• A copy of your previous EDR (where applicable)
• A copy of the EDR form to fill in as far as you can prior to the meeting
3. To prepare for the meeting, think about the past XXX months using the previously
agreed EDR record as a prompt.
3. Send your completed EDR form to your Line Manager before the meeting so he/she
is able to prepare for the meeting as well.
4. You need to think about:-
• Any changes that have happened in your job over the review period
• What has gone well over the period
• Your progress in meeting your agreed objectives
• Where they have not been met, can you identify why?
• Problem areas – what could have gone better?
• Ideas you have about how things could be improved including how value for
money could be improved in your service area
• Any training and development needs that you have
• Has any training that you have done during the review period helped
• Your line Line Manager’s role and how this has affected your performance.
5. When thinking about your objectives for the following period remember they must
be focused on the job and they will, at least in part, cascade down from School and
Faculty /Year Team Plans, etc.
They should be fair, realistic and achievable and objectives should be SMART :
S Specific
M Measurable
A Agreed between the Line Manager and Employee so there is joint commitment to them
R Realistic – challenging but achievable
T Time-bound – with target dates for their achievement
7. At the meeting with your Line Manager the EDR record form is the basis for your
discussions on your progress
8. If one exists, (e.g. for HLTA) the appropriate Competency Framework will
underpin your EDR, and agreed objectives may result.
9. Where practicable your Line Manager will make agreed amendments and
additions to the EDR record at the meeting.
10. Afterwards your Line Manager will give you the EDR Record for your agreement
and signature. The form should be returned to your Line Manager who will sign it,
keep the original and send a copy to you.
11. Your Line Manager should also send a copy of the Training and Development
Annex to the CPD Coordinator so that information on your training requirements
and the evaluation of your training and development can be kept, and included in the
School Training and Development Plan.
It is your responsibility to ensure, along with the help of your Line Manager, that the
actions agreed in your EDR Record are carried out.
Some people may find it difficult to identify areas in which they could develop skills and
knowledge. If you are struggling to identify your needs, think about some of these . . .
• Are there things in your job description that you could perform better by developing
your skills and knowledge?
• To meet your objectives, will you need to learn anything new or acquire new skills?
• Is anything likely to change in the future that will affect your development needs?, for
example:
• Your team colleagues
• Your Line Manager
• The work environment
• Your customers needs
• Different work or responsibilities
• New equipment
• Flexible working opportunities
Confidentiality and access to statements
The whole performance management process and, in particular, the statements generated under it
should be treated with confidentiality at all times. School policy should specify who must be
given access to a reviewee's statement and who may be given access, and for what purpose. No-
one else should be given access to a reviewee's statement and schools should put their own
arrangements in place to ensure this. For example, whenever a reviewee's statement is shown to
another person under the stipulations of the school policy, it should be made clear to that person
at the time that the statement is a confidential document and must not be shown or the contents of
it discussed with anyone who is not authorised under the school policy to see it and that
disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who does this. Reviewees should be told who has
been granted access to their statement and for what purpose.
The annex recording details of the support and development agreed at the review should be
forwarded by the Line Manager to whoever in the school is responsible for planning the training
and development of staff in the school and should be accessible to the Headteacher
The annex recording details of the actions to be taken to address issues of well being agreed at the
review should be copied by the Line Manager to the reviewee, and the original should be retained
by the Line Manager. No other copy should be made.
Review statements for support staff should be retained by the head teacher in a secure place on
the school premises.
Line Managers’ Guide
• Allow plenty of time for the meeting and ensure there will be no interruptions. The
meeting should last no more than one hour, and should take place in working time.
• Help your staff to prepare by ensuring they have a copy of their job description, the
School Development Plan, their training record, their previous EDR form, and a copy of
the form for completion as preparation for the meeting. To allow you to prepare, ask for
a copy of the completed EDR form before the meeting. Encourage your reviewees to
keep this information in a file.
• Think about your assessment of your staff’s performance in relation to the agreed
objectives. For support staff working alongside a teacher who is not their Line Manager
completing the EDR, the Line Manager must consult with the teacher to get their
feedback on performance of the staff member.
• Consider overall performance over the whole review period; use previously gathered
evidence. You should not introduce new evidence at the meeting.
• You should recognise contributions to team performance and be specific about
successes and failures Where you identify areas of under-achievement, ensure you have
examples to illustrate this, and that the evidence for this judgement has been shared with
the reviewee as it arose.
• During the meeting you should be listening and asking questions to ensure your
assessment of the situation is full and fair.
• Remember to include well-being issues in relation to work and discuss if there are any
support mechanisms that could be put in place to help. The School Work-life Balance
policy gives advice and guidance on this subject and can be found [insert location]. A
section of the EDR form referring to well-being issues is available for completion if you
so wish.
• Discuss any training and development activities that have taken place in the previous
period and the impact they have had on performance.
• Jointly agree objectives for the next period and any training and development needs that
need to be addressed. Link these to School Development Plan and Faculty/Year Team
objectives so that the post-holder is clear how he or she contributes to the achievement
of the Plan, and the appropriate professional standards (where available).
• Remember that there are many ways of undertaking training and development, and it
may not always be a formal training course that is required. It may be that in-house
mentoring and coaching on agreed activities will achieve the desired outcome.
• You should send a copy of the Training and Development Annex to your CPD
Coordinator who will use this to record training requirements, evaluation of training and
development, and that the EDR has taken place.
• During the period leading to the next EDR you should ensure the agreed actions on the
EDR record are carried out, and monitor progress where appropriate. You will agree at
the planning meeting what form this monitoring will take, and what evidence the
reviewee will supply to show progress against your objectives.
Remember feedback on performance should be an ongoing process and not
restricted to just Employee Development Review meetings. Line Manager and Staff
member should engage in an on-going professional dialogue throughout the review
cycle.
Performance Management Working Party of the Workforce Review Group, February 2007:
Judith Chantry ERYC
Lynda Featherby ERYC
Ros Mallinson All Saints’ Junior School, Hessle
Rob McIver ERYC
Ruth Newton ERYC
Terry O’Reilly Burlington Junior School, Bridlington
Lynda Rodgers Nafferton Primary School
David Stork ERYC
Julie Thompson Dunswell Primary School
Related docs
