Education secretary Michael Gove is seeking advice on how he can change teachers' salaries so that they are linked to performance in the classroom.
In a letter to the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB), Mr Gove has asked it to advise how pay scales might be reformed to “strengthen the link between pay and performance".
He also wants advice about any barriers to performance-related pay that may be in the current School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document.
Furthermore, Mr Gove has asked the STRB to advise on how the pay and conditions framework could be reformed to introduce regional and “more market facing" pay.
In the letter he writes: “My aim is that (teachers' pay and conditions) should better support my aspirations to raise the status of the profession, and help raise standards of teaching in our schools to be among the very best in the world.
“I want to attract even more of the best entrants, and to develop and retain good teachers who can make the difference to pupils' learning. I am asking the STRB to review the current provisions and provide recommendations on how to reduce the rigidity of the pay system such that it best supports the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers in all schools."
Mr Gove warns that any changes had to remain affordable within the government's plans for deficit reduction and the need for coherences across the teachers' pay system.
However, Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said Mr Gove's ideas could widen the gap in attainment – although he admitted they could also enable teachers to progress more quickly.
He added: “Regionalised public sector pay is a distraction in the education sector, which could only widen the gap in attainment between richer and poorer communities. But we look forward to a debate on greater flexibility within a simplified national pay framework."
The minister's letter comes a month after Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said that only those who are “committed, teach well and show the desire and capacity to reform" should be entitled to a pay rise.
The STRB has until September 28 to respond to Mr Gove.