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Teacher appraisal policy: model, checklist and examples

Adapt our model appraisal policy to use in your school, or use our checklist to make sure your own policy covers everything it needs to. Also see examples of school policies covering appraisal of teachers' performance.

Last reviewed on 27 February 2026See updates
Ref: 41542
Statutory/mandatory for:
Maintained schools
Contents
  1. Maintained schools must have an appraisal policy
  2. Download and adapt our model appraisal policy
  3. Use our checklist to write and review your appraisal policy
  4. No changes to your statutory requirements for 2025/26
  5. Carry out consultations before introducing or changing your policy
  6. See examples of policies from schools
  7. Sources

Maintained schools must have an appraisal policy

Other types of school are not required to have a policy, but you may still find it useful to have one.

Download and adapt our model appraisal policy

Model policy: teacher appraisal DOCX, 215.3 KB /article/17163/documents/1684/Model_policy_teacher_appraisal_Feb_2026.docx

Our policy has been approved by Forbes Solicitors and reviewed by FusionHR. The Key is a minority investor in FusionHR.

It's based on the DfE's model teacher appraisal policy and includes an appraisal report template created with Jeremy Bird, an associate education expert.

Find the DfE's model policy on page 11 of the guidance linked above.

Please note: This policy is aimed at maintained schools and academies, but you can adapt it to suit any school. For other settings, remember to review and adapt the policy to meet your context specific requirements.

Use our checklist if you'd prefer to write