The education department said the majority of eligible staff have already received the first year's money but no-one has yet received the second payment.

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Ron Creer, deputy head responsible for staff development at John Ruskin School, a comprehensive in Coniston, Cumbria, said all eligible staff in his school had applied.

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Everyone on staff is eligible for health insurance for themselves and their families.

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The staff affected by the closures and will either be redeployed to other branches or become eligible for existing redundancy programmes.

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His proposal is similar to a system that Newark teachers agreed to last year, making teachers eligible for bonuses if they are star performers who teach in struggling schools or hard-to-staff subject areas.

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