People in primary and secondary teaching jobs in London and the rest of England may eventually embrace performance-related pay (PRP), a think tank has claimed.

As teachers across the country take part in the first round of proposed industrial action tomorrow (October 1st), Policy Exchange has published a poll of teaching staff that it states shows they could easily be won round to the idea of PRP if more time is taken to explain to them how the system works.

The conclusion has been drawn by the think tank despite only 16 per cent of teachers stating that they would like to work in a school where pay was "more explicitly linked" to their overall performance, with 40 per cent saying they would not.

However, Policy Exchange claims that because teachers said they would like to work in roles that require less paperwork, there could be a change of heart - especially if teachers are shown the link between PRP and less administrative duties.

This is the first term in which performance-based salaries have been introduced into schools across the country and the issue of remuneration is one of the reasons that teachers are striking.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the results actually showed most teachers are far more concerned about their workload than any apparent benefits of PRP.

She stated: "According to this survey, only two per cent said that it would make them significantly more likely to want to work in a school where pay was more explicitly linked to overall performance.

"Far more said it would make them less likely. Even under the proposal of PRP being offered in return for an imagined reduction in bureaucratic workload, only 13 per cent said that it would make them significantly more interested in working in a school with PRP."