If the government wanted to implement its proposals for reforming teachers' pay in England, "any element of payment by results would have to be removed" said the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Doug McAvoy.

"Linking pay to pupils' performance in tests or exams is unfair. There are so many external factors beyond the teachers' control that affect how pupils perform in school that any system of measurement will always be crude no matter how much the government denies this," he said.

Responding to the government's progress report on the Green Paper on teachers' pay and conditions, Mr McAvoy suggested there was a split within the government. He said that the continued pressure for payment by results was coming from the prime minister and not the Education Secretary, David Blunkett.

Concessions

"The education department knows that linking pay to pupils' achievement doesn't work - but the hard line 'taking on teachers' approach is coming from above. It smacks of New Labour."

Sceptical NUT delegates voted in April for a strike ballot on performance pay

If the government persisted with its plans to link salary increases to improvements in pupil achievement a boycott of the appraisal system would continue to obstruct the pay reforms.

But the threat of strike action and disruption in the classroom seems to have receded, as the union leader said the government was beginning to respond to teachers' concerns over pay.

Mr McAvoy said the government had made significant concessions. Ministers now accepted the need for a clearer element of professional development in appraisals, he said.

'No way'

And Mr McAvoy claimed that they had backtracked on proposals for an annual assessment of all teachers - leaving only the optional system for those seeking career progression.

John Dunford: "Ministers' thinking has moved forward"

However there was still "a mountain to climb" before teachers would be convinced of the benefits of the pay proposals, he said.

In his response to the government progress report, the General Secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, Nigel de Gruchy, said: "There is no way we could agree to the government's proposals in this form.

"The government is massaging responses to suit its own needs."

'Significant shifts'

The Secondary Heads Association said Mr Blunkett's letter represented "a number of significant shifts in the proposals" along the lines it had recommended.

Its General Secretary, John Dunford, said these included there now being no new contract for teachers who opted to go through the performance threshold.

And there was a better performance management structure - "although there is still much to be done if pupil progress is to be taken into account in a sensible way," he added.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: "This is clearly a genuine consultation exercise. The government has shifted its position over a number of key issues."

'More manageable'

But its General Secretary, Peter Smith, said ministers still had a long way to go to reassure teachers that they were not being involved in some "political con-trick".

The National Association of Head Teachers said the government's announcement had gone some way towards meeting its concerns.

Its General Secretary, David Hart, said: "Significant progress has been achieved towards making the Green Paper more manageable by headteachers, though a good deal still needs to be done before we could recommend it to our members.

"It is not a reluctance to embrace change which is at the forefront of heads' concerns, but a belief that the crucial responsibility they will have to run the Green Paper system is only worth doing if it can be done well.

"The jury remains out on this key issue."