Friday's Letters: Potential pitfalls of performance-related pay

Now we find that a head teacher, Mark Elms, who runs a primary school in Lewisham, was paid well over the odds for also simply doing his job (Yorkshire Post, July 14). This included 20,000 in overtime payments. In 50 years, first as a teacher, then as a school governor, I have never heard before of teachers, whatever their position in school, qualifying for overtime payments. Had there been such payments when I was teaching, I'd have been a very rich man.

I, along with all other teachers, accepted that the extra work at night and at weekends preparing work, marking exam papers, filling in reports, even taking students on field study courses in the Yorkshire Dales, were all "part of the job."

The main problems of performance-related pay are the criteria.

For example, what would they be for a nurse? Would they be based on the numberof patients treated, the number of drugs administered, even the number of patients brought successfully through life-threatening situations? Not easy.

Funnily enough, the one group of workers where it would be relatively easy to introduce performance-related pay would be for those teachers who work wonders with not very bright and often difficult to teach students, getting them through their GCSEs, sometimes with excellent results. The criteria could be along the lines, just for the sake of argument, of a 500 bonus for every student who gains a grade C or above, but wasn't expected to do so, in the particular subject being taught.

But if ever such a scheme was to be suggested, let alone implemented, just imagine the outcries. Shouts of: "But that's what they're paid to do, isn't it?" would echo from the highest steeples, and rightly so, for going down that particular route would be a potential minefield.

From: David T Craggs, Tunstall, East Yorkshire.

Ilkley's very own Billy Elliot

From: Derek Oldfield, Moorfield Road, Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

WITHOUT wishing to detract from the talents and ambitions of Keenan Faulkner and the efforts of his parents to send him to the Royal Ballet School and the support of Philip Moseley of the Royal Ballet (all power to their elbows!) I wonder if the current media are aware that the original "Billy Elliot" was a young man from Ilkley by the name of David Gayle – the "Y" was added to satisfy Equity when he applied for membership.

David had always wanted to be a dancer, being brought up during the era of the musical films of the 1940s and '50s. He attended Ilkley Middle School and, despite the disparaging remarks and actions of his contemporaries, he pursued his ambition.

He took up serious dance training in his early teens with Margaret Jaffe in Skipton and she recognised his talent and potential. Although the dancing school, the Northern Dance Centre, has now been handed over to one of her protgs, Miss Amy Addison, she is still tutoring even in her late eighties.

To supplement a free scholarship to the Royal Ballet School, where Dame Ninette de Valois was the principal and, of course the founder of The Royal Ballet, David's mother went out cleaning.

He was taken on for the first "Craftsman's" course with a view to him teaching but Ninette de Valois insisted that he should also have stage experience and therefore he became a member of The Royal Ballet and toured the world with them.

Subsequently, he was appointed as a tutor at the Junior School of The Royal Ballet School and rose to be a senior tutor in the senior school. He also taught in America and while there arranged to set up the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars in his home town of Ilkley during the summer school holidays.

In 1991, he was awarded the MBE for his services to dance and in 2004, he handed over the Ballet Seminars to Marguerite Porter, born in Doncaster and a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet who had taught him for a number of years.

The seminars, now known as the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, are currently being held at the University of St John's, York, until Friday July 30.

Let's keep hunting ban

From: Derek Russell, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

I WISH through the columns of this newspaper, to draw readers' attention to a major campaign that aims to repeal the Hunting Act and make hare hunting and coursing, stag hunting and fox hunting legal again.

A number of senior politicians are supporting this multi-million pound campaign. The Government is allowing the House of Commons yet more time to debate this issue, as if 700 hours of Parliamentary time was not enough last time around.

I support the League Against Cruel Sports and their campaign to keep the Hunting Act. Almost 140 people have been convicted under this

Act and there are a number of cases going through the courts right now.

Almost nine in 10 of the general public support the ban on hunting, and we must all now tell our elected representatives how important it is that they respect our collective feeling and vote to protect wildlife.

I urge all like-minded people to lobby their MPs to keep the Act and not allow legalised ritualistic abuse of wildlife for gratuitous fun.

Listen to the public

From: William Dixon Smith, Welland Rise, Acomb, York.

Few would quarrel with Matthew Flinders' contention that the public are not stupid (Yorkshire Post, 19 July). Consequently, it may be inferred that Nick Clegg's motives in demanding a referendum on electoral reform are clearly understood and excused.

The public do not expect altruism or even consistency in their

politicians. They would be stupid if they did.

Polls taken over many years indicate that a steady 80 per cent of the electorate favour electoral reform. AV is a very simple system. Nick Clegg believes that, given the chance, we would all prefer something more sophisticated, but recognises that the situation calls for compromise. This shows that politicians are not stupid either.

Matthew Flinders hints that David Cameron hates electoral reform so much that he is likely to find some cunning excuse to renege on his promise. Now that would be stupid. Just because the public are "passive-cynical" at this moment does not mean they might not be "active-cynical" if provoked. There are historical precedents, which Margaret Thatcher, for one, unwisely chose to ignore.

Nick Clegg has a historical precedent to consider, too: the fatal Lib-Lab pact with its lost chance of electoral reform.

Whatever mistakes he makes in the grim days ahead, surely Nick Clegg will not forget that hard lesson?

Taxpayers' money wasted on speculative appeals

From: Phil de Chaumont-Rambert, West Witton, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire.

I WRITE in support of the issue raised by Barrie Frost (Yorkshire Post, July 20) concerning the taxpayers' money wasted on establishing whether Peter Sutcliffe should remain behind bars.

This latest foray before the courts is only one in a chain of such stories in recent years, where lawyers have brought forward a raft of speculative appeals (more often than not on legal aid) against conviction or sentence following trials where there is overwhelming evidence of guilt.

A similar "industry" appears to have been established in the areas of Human Rights and Immigration Status Appeals – all of which provide lucrative opportunities for law firms.

I suppose it should come as no surprise as the laws and the rules on legal aid are by and large penned, interpreted and argued over by the same "profession".

I would therefore like to propose a solution to this problem, which I feel in these difficult times would have a marked effect on the spiralling legal aid bill, estimated at over 2bn last year.

Why not make barristers' chambers and solicitors' firms bear the costs of failed appeals cases?

I am sure such a system would focus these fine legal minds on the likelihood of success, rather than how much they can squeeze from the public purse.

Pavements for pedestrians

From: John Darby, Hope Street, Staincross.

I READ with interest (Yorkshire Post, July 17) Philip Coates of

Barnsley wanting to ride his motorised Segway on the pavement.

This was supported by Lembit Opik, the former MP, who no doubt is only interested in the publicity it will generate for him. However, it is a

motor vehicle made or adapted for use on a road as per the definition.

What happens when a lady with a pram or an elderly person is walking along the pavement, is he going to stop and get off?

I would like to say to Mr Coates, if he ever does get his wish, I, for one, would never step aside and I would hope that the law prevails and he never gets his wish.

No laughing matter

From: Derek Milner, (Member of Alzheimer's Society), Hook Road, Goole, East Yorkshire.

I IMAGINE that many of your readers would hope that Ken Holmes's surprisingly jocular letter on the subject of dementia (Yorkshire Post,

July 19) was not intended to cause offence.

If he truly wishes to know whether or not he has dementia, he should consult his doctor. Alternatively, I would be pleased to offer transport and accompany him on a visit to any one or more of the care homes in his vicinity.

He could thus witness first hand this cruel and devastating illness, which is by no means confined to the elderly, and form his own conclusion.

Grant not 'windfall'

From: Rev Ian Walker, St Andrew's Rectory, Belton Road, Epworth, North Lincolnshire.

THANK you for printing the story about the Heritage Lottery Fund grant awarded to St Andrew's, Epworth (Yorkshire Post, July 16).

However, I must take issue with the headline describing it as a "windfall".

St Andrew's folk have been working very hard for more than five years (long before I came here) to achieve this grant award.

The criteria are quite exacting and it is right that they should be for this is public money and it is not given lightly.

We are fortunate in Epworth to have the people with the vision, skill and commitment to ensure that this project will be completed for the benefit of the town and district as well as the Church.