www.suecowley.co.uk
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Extracts >
      • The Seven E's of Reading for Pleasure
      • The Seven R's of Great Group Work
      • The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation
  • Training
    • Live Online Training
    • Behaviour Management
    • Differentiation
    • Thinking Skills
    • Voice Training
    • Writing Skills
  • Teachers
    • Lessons I Love
    • Free Downloads
    • Teachers TV
    • Practical Strategies >
      • Low Level Disruption
      • Students being argumentative with each other
      • Pacing lessons so that students maintain focus
      • Motivating boys to write
      • Tapping/wandering while you are talking
      • How do I know when to deal with/ignore behaviour?
      • Getting the class back to you
      • Arrogant/don't care/poor attitude
      • Arguing back
      • Calling out/shouting across the room
      • Controlling noise levels during group work
      • Engaging students who 'just don't see the point' in a subject
      • Giving feedback, efficient marking and showing progress
      • Refusal to start a task
      • Work life balance and time management
  • 100 Ideas
    • 100 Nursery Rhymes
    • 100 Tips for Artful Educators
    • 100 Books for Teens
    • 100 Tips for NQTs
    • 100 Tips for Writers
    • 100 Books for Little People
    • 100 Female Education Authors
    • 100 Tips on Behaviour
    • 100 Funny Poems and Poets
    • 100 Books for KS2
    • 100 Tips for Developing Young Writers
    • 100 International Classic Books and Authors
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    • Bury Secondary Headteachers
    • Cambridgeshire NQTs
    • Children with Special Needs Contact Day
    • Teach First
    • Firm Foundations
    • Football Association
    • Association of British Schools of Chile
    • NUT Reading for Pleasure
    • Sweden

You Can't Fatten a Pig by Weighing It

24/11/2010

0 Comments

 
Yes, I admit it, I just couldn't resist any longer: this Blog entry is going to be about Ofsted. (For those of you outside the UK, this is the Office for Standards in Education; for those of you teaching in the UK, this is the Office for Stress and Eternal Damnation). Now, here's the thing: I've always felt rather sorry for Ofsted inspectors. Let's face it, it's not the kind of job you set out to do when you're a child. Imagine, you're ten years old, and you're thinking of a vocation, a career choice, a major life decision about where you want to go and what you want to do. Shall I be a doctor, a nurse, a vet, a teacher, a fire fighter, an astronaut? No, I know, I've got it, I think I'll be ... an Ofsted inspector. That way I get to be really popular and teachers will be ever so grateful when I tell them how to do their job.

And here's another thing: the poor loves never get to see all those magical moments that happen so unexpectedly when you're working with children. That lesson you planned on the back of a fag packet, which weirdly captures their imagination and suddenly they're running with it, flying with it, finally grasping that tricky concept you've spent so long trying to get across. Those magical moments that never seem to happen in your carefully planned lesson, with its five pages of explanatory notes, its finely tuned starter activity, its deliberately chosen and lovingly differentiated resources. Or, in other words, those dull, safe lessons that teachers do when there happens to be an inspector in the room, because they're terrified of taking risks, of making mistakes.

Yes, there is something to be said for having some kind of inspection system. It can help parents make a choice about which school they would prefer their child to go to (I'll be dealing with this notion of 'choice' in an entry very soon). It can help struggling schools get more support, and it acknowledges the dedication of those staff who do things well. But if you're new to teaching don't be fooled - hard to believe I know, but there was an inspection system in place before Ofsted. Except it was a mostly supportive approach run by locally based inspectors, who knew their local schools and the circumstances in their local area. What really concerns me about the current system is the total lack of trust in education staff as professionals. The balance seems to have tilted so far in the direction of mistrusting us, that you have to have evidence to prove every last aspect of what has happened in your classroom. Instead of just focusing on helping children to learn and develop, spending time with them and enjoying the job, you have to record every last detail of what you've done. Because that way someone has the evidence they need to make a judgement about you. Yes, the ever present threat of Ofsted does help to keep schools and other settings on their toes. But just look at the quantity of paperwork and stress required to achieve it.

I'm currently involved really closely with my local pre-school on a voluntary basis. And as I watch the staff playing with the children, who absolutely adore them, it really warms my heart. But what's this? Suddenly they stop playing with the kids. They dash off to grab a camera and take a photo; or find a sticky label and write a few notes. That way they can grab that vital evidence they need to prove that they're doing their job, to fill out those profiles that record every step of a child's progress. "Please!" I want to scream, "Don't stop playing with that child to document the fact that you're playing with her and something great happened. Just play. Just enjoy the moment. Just do what you think is best. I believe you. I believe in you. You honestly don't have to prove it."

But they do. And it's partly my fault. I've never been in a management position before. I've never had to worry too much about what Ofsted did or didn't say. I'd always rejected the promotion ladder as an option, because I wanted to stay in the classroom. But now I find myself in the very odd position of actually caring. Because as Chair of the Committee, I want us to get a good Ofsted report next time round. Now, most of what I do at our lovely little preschool is motivated by wanting to improve things for the children and the staff, rather than trying to improve our inspection grade. But in the back of my mind, I want us to get that public approval, that 'good' or (whisper it) 'outstanding' that makes parents sit up and take notice. I hang my head in shame for even thinking that way, I'm drowning in paperwork to provide proof of all the great things we do, but there it is: I actually care what Ofsted think.

And for that, Ofsted, for that, Government Education Departments of every hue, I curse you and your lack of trust.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Elephants in the Classroom

    You know that saying, about there being an 'elephant in the room': something everyone knows is there, but no one wants to mention?  In teaching, there isn't just one elephant in the classroom, there's a whole herd of them, rampaging through the room. In this blog I plan to turn a spotlight on some of the unspoken and sometimes unpalatable truths about our noble profession (and the good stuff too). Because if we can't be honest about what makes a good learning experience, an effective school, or a good teacher, and equally what makes a bad one, then everyone loses.

    As the saying goes: 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.'

    There's no point in denying these truths, because they will still be there when we turn back around. Or to put it another way, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean there no one's following you.

    Archives

    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010

    Categories

    All
    Acronyms
    Assessment
    Behaviour
    Blog
    Consistency
    Creativity
    Dream School
    Evidence
    Experimental Teaching
    Fear
    Inspirational Teachers
    Internet
    Magic Wand
    Making Learning Relevant
    Ofsted
    Paperwork
    Parents
    Personality
    Policies
    Risk
    Role Models
    Sanctions
    Teaching Jargon
    Teaching Style
    Technology
    Tiredness
    Topical

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Extracts >
      • The Seven E's of Reading for Pleasure
      • The Seven R's of Great Group Work
      • The Seven T's of Practical Differentiation
  • Training
    • Live Online Training
    • Behaviour Management
    • Differentiation
    • Thinking Skills
    • Voice Training
    • Writing Skills
  • Teachers
    • Lessons I Love
    • Free Downloads
    • Teachers TV
    • Practical Strategies >
      • Low Level Disruption
      • Students being argumentative with each other
      • Pacing lessons so that students maintain focus
      • Motivating boys to write
      • Tapping/wandering while you are talking
      • How do I know when to deal with/ignore behaviour?
      • Getting the class back to you
      • Arrogant/don't care/poor attitude
      • Arguing back
      • Calling out/shouting across the room
      • Controlling noise levels during group work
      • Engaging students who 'just don't see the point' in a subject
      • Giving feedback, efficient marking and showing progress
      • Refusal to start a task
      • Work life balance and time management
  • 100 Ideas
    • 100 Nursery Rhymes
    • 100 Tips for Artful Educators
    • 100 Books for Teens
    • 100 Tips for NQTs
    • 100 Tips for Writers
    • 100 Books for Little People
    • 100 Female Education Authors
    • 100 Tips on Behaviour
    • 100 Funny Poems and Poets
    • 100 Books for KS2
    • 100 Tips for Developing Young Writers
    • 100 International Classic Books and Authors
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    • Bury Secondary Headteachers
    • Cambridgeshire NQTs
    • Children with Special Needs Contact Day
    • Teach First
    • Firm Foundations
    • Football Association
    • Association of British Schools of Chile
    • NUT Reading for Pleasure
    • Sweden