My school is currently 'requires improvement' that means as a middle manager I am being sent on loads of courses.
On Tuesday, all of the middle managers attended the OFSTED conference, 'Improving Numeracy and Literacy' We arrived early and realised we were totally underdressed! All the other men were wearing suits. I don't wear a suit for school so I wasn't wearing one for a conference. We found our seats and engaged in some small talk with people from other schools. Some of them were in a category, some were in the same boat as us and some had felt it was worthwhile to attend even though they were good to outstanding. In the literacy workshop we were given some great messages. Teachers should be reading to their class out loud each day in order to engender a love of reading. I asked 'If Ofsted were observing me for 20 minutes and all I did was read a text for the pure enjoyment of it could I be graded outstanding?' Yes was the resounding answer. If children's eyes were on stalks, they were hanging on your every word and they moaned when you closed the book then that would be deemed outstanding. Excellent I thought, I love reading to my class. I asked about Big Writing, if Ofsted came into a big writing session and all of the children were working independently without any teacher intervention could that be an outstanding session? The answer once again was yes. Even though they don't see the teacher teaching? If all of the children were working hard then yes that would be outstanding. I found this interesting as Ofsted did not like this when they visited my school in the autumn. So it was very positive, however in the afternoon I had the opportunity to chat one to one with the 'Lead Inspector for English,' I asked her the same questions. About the reading, she said that she would not be able to give more than a satisfactory watching someone read. There would need to be some questioning, there would have to be some learning taking place. Enjoying the story would not be good enough. About big writing she said that she would like to see the teacher doing something perhaps working with a group, prompting children to add to, edit their writing. So all of the positives of the morning sessions had been dashed. How can these people be making a judgement on teaching in our schools if they do not know what is expected themselves. It all comes down to a single person's preference. If the HMI has a penchant for reading then they would like to see reading in every literacy session. The lead inspector said that they were working on creating a more uniformed approach, perhaps it is a bit late for this. Perhaps they need to get a move on and sort this out. Their judgements ruin teachers' careers and lives.
16 Comments
Claire Hart
2/5/2013 02:14:29 pm
This is a really good example Rob of what is wrong with Ofsted. Its no wonder that excellent teachers become down heartened at times. Still - thank you for sharing as it reinforces the idea that reading and writing for pure pleasure are important. For me if we can engross the children and build that love of both we are getting it right.
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Vicky
2/5/2013 02:20:42 pm
Absolutely typical of inspectors/advisors. Never get consistent messages and then feel more confused about what is good classroom practise
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Anil Gaind
2/5/2013 02:54:50 pm
Hear, hear! The problem is inconsistency! Reading for enjoyment is absolutely key to good writing.
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Karen Ashworth
2/5/2013 03:33:13 pm
Oh dear - I'm surprised I've still got a job at all. My class are always being read to and doing writing : (
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Ann Kaminski
3/5/2013 12:15:45 am
I attended the same conference but in London the week previous. The same comments were made there. Colleagues attending the Maths training came away with practical ideas for helping colleagues and the school to get to "good". Our feedback indicated that we would like the same for the Literacy sessions rather than one person's lecture about the difference between and how we should teach English and Literacy.Good to know they listened!
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Debbie Jones
27/6/2013 03:57:19 pm
What exactly is the difference between English and Literacy? My school is insisting that they are taught separately. What do you think?
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Steve Smith
3/5/2013 12:31:47 am
For inspectors, advisors and moderators there are always the same issues. The are general guidelines but ultimately it comes down to personal and professional judgement; something which is not always consistent. I was having similar conversations yesterday with teachers about the ks2 writing moderation process.
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Brenda Ainsley
6/5/2013 12:13:41 am
Yes. It's all subjective, isn't it? Down to individual preferences... which is fair enough, until someone makes a hard-nosed judgement. Bang!
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Vicky
19/5/2013 11:24:30 am
This reminds me of our recent OFSTED where Lit coordr was criticised for allowing one of her indepdt groups to read for pleasure during group reading.Should have targets. Not ok to choose a book and read it and enjoy it once a week, apparently. Same criticism at local schl the following week. Grrr.
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19/5/2013 12:20:07 pm
I don't trust any OFSTED judgements, outstanding or otherwise. Interesting that *the* most memorable English lesson I ever had consisted of my English teacher Mr Johnson reading "Extraordinary Little Cough" by Dylan Thomas for the whole lesson.
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Sarah Bailey
29/5/2013 02:01:31 pm
Reading to your class and then hearing them question and discuss the plot and characters is a joy. Being shown other titles borrowed from the local library is enough to start the week well. How else are children meant to learn the skills and enjoy the pleasures from words they read and write?
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10/7/2014 01:25:24 am
nice post......thanks for sharing this informative post
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Brenda Ainsley
10/7/2014 10:56:16 pm
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