On a good day I’d say that, after eight and a half years at
the chalk face, I might finally be getting the hang off this teaching malarkey.
The horror shows are fewer and further between and I’ve come to recognise and
celebrate those light bulb moments when they come about. But, if you want the
credentials, I’ve been formally observed twice by Ofsted and my (ahem) ‘teaching
across time’ on both occasions has been graded ‘Outstanding’. Sod it, every PM
observation I’ve ever had has been graded a 1 too.*
Don’t you dare judge my school, its aspirations and the learning that takes place within it, solely by a number assigned to it on a piece of paper.
And yet, my school ‘Requires improvement’ and I’m sick and
bloody tired of this meaning people automatically assume that I need to be
paired up with a teacher in an ‘Outstanding’ school in a Teaching Alliance or
other network to learn from the teachers who work there.
No. What me and the other teachers in my school need is more
time to share our own good practice from within and get better together. We do
not need the local private school ‘doing their bit’, thanks Tristram. We need
less pressure, more PPA/CPD time, praise and encouragement, some sort of
work/life balance, and space from the relentless judgements and pressure that
Ofsted bring to make true strides forward for our students.**
But it’s so easy for us to fall into the trap too; too
easily we learn to think of ourselves as sub-standard. Tired teachers who are
continually under the cosh from the media or Inspectors don’t have the poop to speak
up for themselves and shout, ‘Hang on a second, Mr. I’m actually blinking good
at what I do’. Perhaps as a consequence of this, I think there’s a perception
amongst some at my school that the ‘Outstanding’ judgement in observation
(sorry Mr Moyse we still grade at our place) is some unattainable measure that
requires props, bells and whistles to secure (which is clearly rubbish). I
think on occasion less experienced observers might even be tempted to hold it
back, despite seeing students that are engaged, inspired and – fundamentally –
learning.
It’s perhaps no surprise that a government who’ve
demonstrated their belief in grammar schools is now seemingly creating a two-tier
mentality amongst teachers: us and them; the haves and have nots; RI and ‘Outstanding’.
Is a ‘Requires Improvement’ school the new secondary modern? Do the entitled
grow in confidence because they’re told they’re inherently able and academic
and encouraged? C’mon teachers, let’s not buy into this false dichotomy.
So how do we fight this crap? It’s apposite that the answer was
tweeted to me at 9.40pm on a Sunday night by our brilliant Deputy Head of Maths
@mr_g_walton. It’s positivity. It’s recognising our own hard work, commitment and
talent. It’s celebrating one another’s teaching and shouting about the good
practice we see. It’s the good practice blog started by one of our Senior Lead
Practitioners. It’s our school website that lists the amazing things our
students do on a daily basis – not just on the two days in two years the
Inspectors choose to swing by. It’s working with other brilliant teachers
without knowing the grading attributed to their school by Ofsted. And not
caring about it either.
Rant over.
*Btw I do know this is
a horribly arrogant way to start a blog, sorry, but it seemed necessary to make
my subsequent point! And, for the record, external judgements are absolutely
not how I would choose to judge my own teaching: I do that via the achievements
of my student… and the occasional ‘thank
you’ card.
** Note: this is not
the same as saying that our fantastic and hardworking SLT don’t provide time
for this. Improving teaching and learning is at the core of every Inset
and staff meeting. My comment is aimed at those external forces that make a
presumption about the CPD needs of my school without having any understanding
of it.
***There were supposed
to be two more sections to this post, but I’m going to pause here and leave
them for Round 2. Coming to a blog near you soon:
Don’t you dare judge my students and their achievements by my school’s
Ofsted report alone.Don’t you dare judge my school, its aspirations and the learning that takes place within it, solely by a number assigned to it on a piece of paper.