A teacher improvement plan should not be a punishment document disguised as professional development. Its purpose is to define a performance or practice gap clearly, identify the evidence behind it, specify what needs to change, provide meaningful support, and review progress fairly.
This template is designed for principals, heads of school, coordinators, heads of department and HR/academic leaders. It can be adapted for CBSE, IB and other school settings. Where the plan forms part of a formal employment or disciplinary process, schools should also follow their own HR policy, contract requirements and applicable law.
When should a teacher improvement plan be used?
Use a formal improvement plan when a concern is significant, repeated or has not improved through ordinary coaching and feedback. Do not create one simply because a single lesson was imperfect.
Possible triggers include persistent concerns in lesson quality, classroom management, planning, assessment, professional responsibilities, student safeguarding, subject knowledge, parent communication or implementation of agreed school expectations.
Evidence should come before the plan
A plan should be grounded in specific evidence. Depending on the issue, evidence may include multiple classroom observations, lesson plans, student work, assessment records, agreed deadlines, professional conduct records, parent concerns that have been verified, or previous coaching notes.
OECD guidance on teacher appraisal recommends using multiple measures because teaching is too complex to judge reliably through a single observation or one data point.
Teacher Improvement Plan Template
| Teacher | Role / Subject | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Line Manager | ||
| Plan Start Date | Review Date(s) | ||
| Plan Type | ☐ Developmental support ☐ Formal performance improvement ☐ Probation / induction support | ||
1. Define the concern precisely
| Area requiring improvement | Specific evidence | Expected standard / practice |
|---|---|---|
Avoid vague labels such as “poor teacher” or “not committed.” Describe observable practice. For example: “In three observations, checks for understanding were limited to volunteer responses and significant misconceptions were not identified before independent practice.”
2. Agree the improvement goal
A good goal describes a change in professional practice and the evidence that will demonstrate progress.
| Improvement goal | Actions by teacher | Success evidence | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|
3. Define school support
The school should record what support it will provide. Appropriate support may include:
- instructional coaching;
- co-planning with a coordinator or subject leader;
- peer observation;
- demonstration lesson;
- mentoring;
- subject-specific professional development;
- classroom-management coaching;
- resources, exemplars or planning tools;
- reduced or adjusted responsibility where justified during an intensive support period.
| Support to be provided | Person responsible | When / frequency |
|---|---|---|
4. Set review checkpoints
Do not wait until the end of the plan to reveal whether progress is sufficient. Short review points allow the teacher to adjust while improvement is still possible.
| Review date | Evidence reviewed | Progress | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observation / student work / planning / assessment / other | ☐ On track ☐ Partial ☐ Insufficient | ||
| ☐ On track ☐ Partial ☐ Insufficient |
5. Define the outcome
At the conclusion, record the evidence and decision clearly.
- Improvement achieved: required practice is now secure enough to return to normal professional-development processes.
- Partial improvement: progress is evident but further targeted support/review is justified.
- Insufficient improvement: required standards have not been met despite clear expectations, support and reasonable review; the school may need to proceed according to its formal policy.
Example: assessment for learning
Concern: In repeated observations, the teacher moves to independent work after asking only volunteer questions, leaving misconceptions unidentified.
Goal: Within four weeks, use at least two whole-class checks for understanding in each observed lesson and adapt instruction when evidence shows a common misconception.
Support: One co-planning session, observation of a colleague using retrieval/response routines, and one coaching visit focused only on formative assessment.
Success evidence: lesson plans show planned checks; observation evidence shows broad participation; teacher responds to identified misconceptions; student work shows reduced repeated errors.
Example: classroom routines
Concern: Transitions routinely consume excessive learning time and require repeated corrective instructions.
Goal: Establish and practise two priority routines so transitions occur predictably with reduced teacher prompting.
Support: Classroom-management coaching, observation of a colleague with strong routines, and weekly 10-minute review.
Success evidence: transition time decreases, fewer repeated directions are needed, and students initiate routines independently.
Developmental plan versus formal performance plan
Not every improvement goal needs to become a formal performance procedure. Schools should distinguish ordinary professional growth from persistent underperformance. OECD guidance notes that developmental appraisal can be weakened when it is too tightly combined with high-stakes accountability. Therefore, routine coaching should remain as developmental as possible, while formal processes should be transparent when genuinely required.
CBSE and Indian-school reference
CBSE’s pedagogical leadership handbook encourages teacher self-evaluation, peer observation, mentoring, class observations and feedback mechanisms as part of strengthening teaching quality. CBSE school inspection guidance also emphasises observation evidence and positive, constructive feedback to promote improvement and development.
Official references: CBSE Pedagogical Leadership Handbook, CBSE Building Competence for School Inspection, and CBSE Handbook for Teachers.
International reference
OECD guidance describes regular appraisal as primarily developmental when it identifies strengths and learning needs and connects them to individualised development plans. OECD also recommends multiple measures of practice rather than relying on a single observation. EEF guidance recommends starting professional development with a specific practice need informed by learner outcomes, observation feedback and professional judgement.
References: OECD Teacher Appraisal, OECD on appraisal and individual development plans, and EEF Teacher Guide.
Download the teacher improvement plan template
Download the editable Word version for developmental support, structured improvement planning or formal performance processes where appropriate.
Download Teacher Improvement Plan Template (.docx)
Free for professional and school use with attribution. Please link to this page rather than redistributing the file from another website.
Use this template with the observation process
A formal improvement plan should come after fair evidence gathering and professional feedback. Use the Classroom Observation Guide, Lesson Observation Rubric, Teacher Feedback Examples, and Post-Observation Meeting Guide before escalating ordinary development into formal performance management.
For the broader leadership approach, also see How Should a Principal Handle an Underperforming Teacher?
Frequently asked questions
How long should a teacher improvement plan last?
There is no universal duration. It should allow reasonable time for the identified practice to change while protecting students from prolonged weak provision. The timeframe should reflect the seriousness and complexity of the issue and the school’s policy.
Should the teacher sign the plan?
Schools commonly document that the plan has been discussed and received, but signature requirements depend on institutional policy and employment procedures.
What if the teacher improves in some areas but not others?
Record the evidence separately for each goal. Avoid treating progress as all-or-nothing when different aspects are moving at different rates.
The leadership principle
A fair improvement plan should allow a school to demonstrate four things: the concern was defined clearly, evidence was shared, meaningful support was provided, and progress was reviewed fairly. Improvement should be the first objective; accountability remains necessary when improvement does not occur.