Wow, such vitriol. Man up guys. In any professional environment you will have those who are career driven, ambitious and talented and who seek promotion/elevation. They are supported by the majority of others who work within the organisation who are not looking for similar roles. If you are good and ambitious go for it; if you are neither find a niche in which you are happy. Every large commercial organisation I know operates a scheme for talent identification (even bad schools separate the able from the less able) and most use lateral entry and specialist recruitment. If you want to career press - get yourself to Swindon polytechnic for the 11+ for ES otherwise work hard and enjoy the PS for as long as you can stand. The New Employment Model work may, if not treated the same way as the Bett Report (remember that?), offer a dramatic change to terms and conditions of service along with new career structures and management processes. Just remember one thing folks - little changes for the better!