Welcome to Philips High School’S Teaching and Learning Magazine – July 2015 - Sharing ideas with teachers!
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Happy Holidays! Well, it’s that time of year again and our thoughts turn to the Summer holidays - no lesson planning, no marking and no pupils....well for a few weeks anyway! As a staff we need to celebrate our own personal successes from this year - no matter how small – whether it be getting involved in a ‘TeachMeet’ for the first time, using technology in the classroom for the first time, or teaching a new topic for the first time; every single one of us has achieved something new this year I’m sure and this should be celebrated! Teaching is an evolving profession and we have to keep up with our evolving world and move forward in this age of technology; this is what PHS is doing! Our new website launches in the new year, we have the PHS App, the PHS Teaching & Learning blog, the Twitter page with even more of our pupils and parents ‘following’ us, plus a range of new courses starting in September. Once the new network is up and running, we can move forward from a teaching & learning perspective. Our students are using technology in their world every day and we need to embrace that in our lessons. I am excited by this prospect and excited to see what our pupils can do with the technology available to them in classrooms in the next academic year. There is lots to look forward to - September is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting first terms yet! The pupils of Philips High School cannot learn without you teaching them and guiding them along the way and I think we forget this sometimes. So, to you all, thank you! Thank you for teaching the pupils so effectively, thank you for doing a great job and thank you for all the little things you do that make a difference to our young peoples’ lives. So, whatever it is you’re doing this Summer, enjoy yourselves! You really do deserve the rest and relaxation for all the hard work you put in every day.
Please remember the words of Oprah Winfrey…
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Contents 1) Assessment Without Levels Is Built on Trusting Teachers - Page 4 2) Growth Mind Set-a year on-are we opening and growing our minds? - Page 9 3) Using Twitter to support Teaching and Learning Page 16 4) Watching Yourself Teach is Transformational Page 18 5) @OfstedNews 22 Years On - Page 21 6) #TeachingTruths – Page 23
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Assessment Without Levels Is Built on Trusting Teachers Assessment is integral to curriculum design and delivery including at the class room level as teaching and learning … so starts the first draft of our new Assessment Policy. We attempting to nail the principles – there isn’t a +/- or a, b, c in sight.
A lot of schools are still working on replacing levels with something which looks like levels but aren’t anything in particular. I think other schools and teachers are still in denial and tell me they “intend to carry on using levels next year.” It’s looking like a bit of a mess to be honest. With everything that is coming at schools, leaders and teachers over the next few years, in terms of changes to curriculum, examinations and accountability, it’s very difficult to find the time to step back and really think through the implications of assessment without levels. Here is the first draft of our new Assessment Policy principles. Feedback is welcome as nothing is set in tablets of stone and the draft won’t go to staff till after half term for their thoughts. Plenty of time to make changes. Assessment must support teaching and promote learning. This will be achieved through:
Ensuring periodic*1 interim and next year ready assessments*2 are pre-planned and exemplify the high standards expected in teaching and learning as defined by challenging success criteria. Page 4
Ensuring these assessments and success criteria lead to the formation of clear learning intentions within each scheme of learning. Interim and next year ready assessments which are common across year groups/bands and cumulative across the year or key stage. The use of regular low stakes assessments to monitor and respond to pupils’ on-going acquisition of knowledge*3. The use of verbal and written feedback which requires pupils’ to respond to improved their performance and standards of work. Using the analysis of an assessment to inform the further development of schemes of learning and future improvements in teaching.
This whole section is predicated on high quality collaborative planning by staff, including shared professional development time across the two primary academies, supported by the Trust’s Numeracy & Literacy leads, and much more departmental time in next year’s secondary academy calendar. It’s crucial that the curriculum is sufficiently challenging with Years 3-5 and 7-9 being particularly important areas of focus for us. The assessments must help exemplify curriculum excellence. As well as the interim and next year ready assessments, that will be common and cumulative, there will be the assessments of prior learning and in lesson assessments to sort out. That’s a lot of work and so a lot of time for us to find.
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Assessment must help close the learning gap between current and expected learning. This will be achieved through:
Analysing assessments and acting on this information to close the gap between a pupil’s current learning and the expected learning. Re-teaching and whole class or individual feedback which must be used by pupils to improve the quality of their work. These, class room based, close to the point of the assessment, actions will be supplemented by additional out of class support if required. Building time into schemes of learning to allow for whole class re-teaching and pupils’ response to feedback.
If we can catch a student’s lack of learning early we hope to eventually move from closing the gap, with varying degrees of success, to stopping the gap appearing in the first place. This whole section is about re-educating or reminding ourselves that if children haven’t grasped the idea, concept or skill then simply moving on and pretending otherwise is not the best strategy. Curriculum coverage is an important but also dangerous concept. The need to analyse interim and next year ready tests will lead to re-teaching aspects of the scheme or providing feedback for students to act on. We will need to build time into our schemes of learning for these post-assessment actions. Despite working on increased challenge at the beginning of Key Stage 2 and in Key Stage 3 for a number of years, there is more time we can find by searching out any low challenge or unnecessary activities. Also the ability to continually refine out schemes of learning, using the assessment data, will help us get better and better at teaching it very well first time, every time.
#5MinAchievementPlan (http://wp.me/p3Gre8-Fk)
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Assessment must be meaningful and manageable. This will be achieved by:
Developing assessments at a subject level to provide data, at a grain size appropriate to the subject and age of the pupils, which is capable of being analysed and acted on to improve teaching and learning. Leaders within the Trust’s academies using teacher-leader data analysis meetings, following interim and next year ready assessments, as the main means of monitoring pupils’ progress during the year. Ensuring a smart approach to marking and feedback which require pupils to think and work harder in responding to marking and feedback than it took teachers to produce it. Using self, peer and computer generated assessment and marking effectively. Each academy ensuring staff have the time and professional development, built into their annual calendar, to deliver the Trust’s Assessment Policy effectively and efficiently.
We’ve avoided, what I consider, the trap of rushing to dictate how teachers will produce a reportable grade. Parents rightly want to know how their child is doing so at some point we must make a determination but this may be more of an organic process involving staff. It’s only really the early years of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 which are an issue. End of the key stages with external judgements, SATs and examinations will be reported using current grades (see *4 below). Instead of monitoring students’ progress at a whole grade size too early the focus will be on the data meetings between a teacher and leader. If you’ve read leverage leadership this will be familiar to you. The other element here is about a smart approach to marking. It’s got to be worth the teacher’s effort in terms of impact on a student’s learning. If it isn’t than maybe we need to spend the time on something else. I think we’ve a lot to learn and discover with respect to this. Assessment must raise aspiration and encourage pupils to work hard. This will be achieved by:
Setting targets as a range, at the upper end of what is achievable, which promote high aspiration and hard work by pupils in order to achieve them. Determining current grade assessment data*4 towards the end of Key Stages 1, 2, 4 & 5*5 at a pupil, subject and academy level. This will be reported to parents and directors.
This throws up an interesting conundrum for us about how early we start setting and sharing targets with students in terms of grades as opposed to learning intentions and success criteria. Have we got a bit too carried away with the wrong type of targets? Is a target of a 4a or of starting each sentence with a different beginning of more use as a target?
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I’m really just thinking out loud here and would be genuinely interested in you leaving a thought or comment on the post. What has struck me most powerfully as I’ve been working on this with the head teachers is that the the biggest paradigm shift, in this whole approach, is the move to greater trust of teachers within schools. It’s a far cry from constant data input and monitoring followed by exhortations to work harder or raise standards. It will remain interesting to see whether trusting within a wider culture of mis-trust, that pervades our education system, is wise or foolish? Notes *1 – Periodic means 3-5 interim assessments per annum plus one end of year next year ready assessment, in core and option subjects and 1-2 interim assessments per annum plus one end of year next year ready assessment for other subjects. *2 – Next year ready assessments include national assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 & 2. National assessments may be broadened to include additional aspects which will ensure students are ready for the next stage of their education. *3 – Knowledge is defined as factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive. *4 – Current grade assessment data must be determined using one year’s complete assessment/ examination/test papers and/or controlled/teacher assessments, from a specific examination season, as used to determine the final mark/grade/judgement. Where it is determined not to include a specific element in the assessment of the pupils, at that time, the overall mark/grade/judgement must be determined including the marks for the nonassessed element. Procedures as used by the assessment body to standardise and moderate the assessment of pupils’ work must be employed or as near as reasonably practical.
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*5 – Towards the end of each key stage means the end of the academic year preceding the end of the key stage (Y1, 5, 10 & 12 – data submitted to the Executive Director by the 1st Friday in September of the following academic year) and twice during the final year of the key stage (Y2, 6, 11 & 13 – data submitted to the Executive Director by the 1st Friday of December and April). References Bambrick-Santoyo, P (2012) Leverage Leadership Jossey-Bass (Kindle Edition)
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Growth Mind Set-a year on-are we opening and growing our minds? It was nice this week to be able to welcome 2 colleagues from Marple Hall School in Stockport. Ana and Rhian have been great supporters of our blog with lots of retweets and positive comments and Ana had also very kindly arranged for our Spanish subject leader Bronagh to visit her faculty previously. On twitter they are known as @ana_castillo and @_rhia_rhia and they asked if they could come and see how we are implementing growth mind set and our new assessment/tracking system. This is a welcome collaborative friendship between 2 very different schools and has come via the increasing and valuable use of social media as a form of professional development. A couple of weeks ago I explained the role visiting schools have in developing the reflective and self-critical professional development of our staff-many teachers still don’t like to be quizzed about their practice or have visitors actually enter their classrooms but times are changing and visits to other schools and vice-versa are welcome opportunities for our staff to sharpen, adapt and improve their own practice. We can hardly talk about GM for teachers and then not support open and honest collaboration to seek out and share the best practice. Ana and Rhian were asking about my own career and I explained that I did, after 20 or so years, do some consultancy for 2 and a half years and it was a lovely break sharing all of the good ideas I gleaned from schools and research. BUT whilst it is much easier advising folks how to do things, the challenge of returning into school to put the theory into practice was my driving force. Anyone can talk a good game but school leadership at any level has to deliver the learning and teaching goods and we are judged in the harsh environment of the real world of inspections, tables and our own community and peers. Writing blogs and sharing our ideas is a late in my career acquired pleasure! However the success of them can only be judged if they are not found wanting when visitors call and hopefully don’t find a shallowness to our practice where only a few colleagues actively support what I have said, some may pay lip-service only and that actually I’m only writing about my own views! http://blog.meolscophighschool.co.uk/?p=1922 Page 9
It goes without saying that the GM attitude has to begin at home and an email just landed before I began to write from Sarah who was sending me her feedback on Katie’s observation. For the observed! What would you like to develop next with either subject or general pedagogy? Implementing more discussion and group work into my lessons rather than getting students to write for the majority of the lesson. ‘Letting go’ of control and trusting the students to stay on task.
How can we [or others] help?
How did today help your appraisal targets? Where next with this particular target?
I am observing Sarah on Thursday with her year 9s where she will How to challenge students in the be using group discussion within most effective way. Push more her lesson. group activities. Ensure modelled answers are succinct.
It was great to see Katie asking for her own area of weakness as her PD focus [as all GM teachers should!] and equally pleasing to see that she is going to informally observe her subject leader in action. [Sarah has instigated and offered this] How widespread and consistently excellent is this practice though across our school? Ana and Rhian’s visit provided me with the chance to re-assess all aspects of our GM journey for the final time this year. Ana is an avid reader of everything to do with GM and attendee of teacher sharing events such as Northern Rocks. She has devoured the recent GM discussions from Dweck and commentaries at the Wellington conference e.g. https://t.co/QeDqQFaqwe and I knew that she would want to see much more than a plethora of GM posters and a few assembly PowerPoints! Yes GM is for both teachers and students and yes any visitor should expect to see examples of GM beginning to be rooted in classroom practice. I know that both Ana and Rhian both realised that on a whole school scale, the push for any initiative has to come with some clout behind it before hearts and minds can begin to be gently persuaded and then won. In my new position, if I believe in GM and want to see it embedded at MCHS, I have to be the living embodiment of it and model it in every aspect of my role. I can’t pick and choose aspects of it that I find easiest and then stand up in assembly or inset and hold forth about it and then not adhere to the principles myself! I came up with a couple of acronyms for the Sefton Head’s Conference last week to explain the philosophy we have been developing and will share it again with our middle leaders tonight, when I talk about my views on leadership and share the questions and activities from our AHT and DHT interviews. I want all to see see my expectations openly explained so that everyone can prepare to Page 10
ready themselves for SLT should they wish to. I used an old fashioned home-made poster-it looked something like this! CONSISTENT EXCELLENCE GREAT WHAM! LONG TERM PLAN NOT SHORT TERM QUICK FIX Most school leaders and teachers have the occasional great idea, but the key to consistent excellence and long term sustainable development is to ensure that the idea is evidenced in every teacher, student, classroom, and action etc. for all of the time. I need to consider GREAT WHAM every time I begin to think about any new or current initiative. G ROWTH MIND SET OF ALL IN MCHS R ESEARCH RICH AND INVOLVED E VIDENCE GAINED TO INFORM OUR PRACTICE A LL FOR 1 AND 1 FOR ALL! COLLABORATION AND SHARING IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD T RUST SUPPORTS ACCOUNTABILITY-WORKS BOTH WAYS! W ORKLOAD TIRED UNHAPPY TEACHERS/LEADERS ARE NO USE-CREATIVE THINKING TO CHANGE PRACTICE H UMANS! STUDENT AND STAFF VOICE MATTERS-ALL LISTEN TO EACH OTHER-ALL MATTER A LONE-NO! WE HAVE EACH OTHER AND GROWING NETWORK OF SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS M ASTERY-SUBJECT LEVEL, TEACHER LEVEL, LEADERSHIP LEVEL-ONLY THE BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH I know that colleagues have already began to call me ‘the boss’ and there are times when fast decisions have to be made [snow!] but if I believe in GM then I do have to listen and seek honest criticism and allow discussions which may disagree with my views-e.g. our BSG assessment! But I do know that if we are to move forward as a school then my mind set has to be the least fixed of anyone-bring it on!
During the summer I got the posters ready, staff briefings and form time activities were all written and ready to go. Page 11
I explained the early days in this post and mentioned all of the other schools who we were grateful to for their shared GM ideas; http://blog.meolscophighschool.co.uk/?p=1114 Our ideas were shared at different gatherings of parents throughout autumn term with maths sharing their notion of GM.
And I asked the parents for their views of GM in our annual Review Day questionnaire; We have changed our assessment system [no national curriculum levels anymore] and our reporting system to provide information on our new Bronze, Silver, Gold approach-have you found the information informative/clear/understandable? Has your child mentioned anything positive/negative about BSG? We have gradually introduced the idea of the positive aspects of developing a Growth Mind Set into our lessons, assemblies and reward systems. We would like our parents to support this initiative-we think that it will make a big difference to student learning- but wonder if you understand what GM involves/would like to know more. What do you think?
Their answers were shared on our bulletin and are in this post. Page 12
http://blog.meolscophighschool.co.uk/?p=1773 Our students love stickers and stampers-even year 11-so they are always a way to engage them or at least give them the message that the in initiative is important and won’t be going away!
Postcards home based on successful learning [represented by hundreds of posters around school] have proved to be popular with both students and parents and are a great way to celebrate the learning successes of as many students as possible. Names are proposed by colleagues and appear on our weekly bulletin with specific GM or learning triumphs.
When Ana and Rhian visited, I asked a couple of the GM hub colleagues to briefly explain what they had been trialling. Alex, and the others, have been discussing GM and in particular how they can talk about effort and possibly record/self-assess effort incorporating a GM approach.
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These were Alex’s questions that she was developing and had used during the previous week. She also showed her RAG marking which she uses on the student marginal gains wheels to self-assess their own intervention needs. Andrew also shared his geography set of plenary questions with completed student versions and a snap of his GM display and Aimee, her lovely food technology GM plenary dice.
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We are on our way and after a full school year, I can see concrete examples of where both teacher and student growth mind-set have made a positive impact on learning and development. As with all initiatives there are huge areas to develop and tap into. The potential of mind-set if used properly is always open to discussion and we will continue to tread carefully sharing and evaluating constantly. Today is year 6 induction day and another group of year 7 students will soon join us along with our new teachers and the process of embedding GM will begin again for some and continue to develop for others. The circle of school life! http://blog.meolscophighschool.co.uk/?p=2016
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Using Twitter to support Teaching and Learning I held a professional development session this afternoon with @alliedacacia and @DT_RUBIX on using twitter to support their Teaching and Learning. This was part of 4 sessions held tonight in conjunction with our whole School Teaching and Learning development organising by @KKNTeachLearn A number of staff have expressed an interest in developing a better understanding of Twitter as well as practical session on how to use it. Earlier today I tweeted the following:
The main reason for sharing this blog beyond my School is the great responses I received. Therefore in the true spirit of twitter for teaching and learning, sharing.
No 1 tip for using twitter is as follows: @HFGeography Follow a range of tweeters: regular teachers,policy makers,curriculum designers,academics etc. Ensures range of perspectives. @Andyphilipday Avoid telling ppl to adopt what you do in your way but find their own way to get the same outcome having reflected on process. @ChrisChivers2 Ideas are for sharing, considering and refining. Everyone is a learner; Twitter helps to share the journey. @lisajaneashes Get to know the context, create a relationship as you would with any learner, collaborate and follow up. @leah_moo show an interest, listen, offer ideas and discuss them together. Page 16
@TeacherTweaks Use the hashtags to help you filter the info you might be interested in most! @SuzanneCulshaw be generous! Share your ideas & resources. Suggest different ways of doing things. Provide an ear & shoulder. @LeadingLearner Keep it the main thing. Decide what gr8 T&L is 4 u & stick with it, improving T&L is the long game. @kennypieper If it's solely for T and L then resist the temptation to follow celebs and tweet about the telly. Be focused. @PaulGarvey4 Easy! See other teachers teach, but *always* with others. The improvements will be enormous. www.quality-schools.com/the-an... Oh. And then use Twitter to talk to more people about what you've found! @kylemarshesq run everything through the filter of "is this what's best for our students' learning?" @davidfawcett27 Observe, listen, engage, collaborate. And most of all, challenge yourself, your views and your understanding. I've learnt so much since being on Twitter. A lot of which initially challenged me and I'm glad it did. These responses illustrate for me the benefits of being on twitter. Sharing, collaborating, learning, networking and developing our practice together. What we must never forget it’s the people that make the platform.
Useful links: Via @ICTEvangelist ictevangelist.com/introduction... ictevangelist.com/mytop5-tips-... Via @pmonfort petermonfort.wordpress.com/201... Via @EoinLenihan ukedchat.com/2015/03/18/educat...
Happy tweeting! http://staffrm.io/@stephenlogan/BZvrHKer6L
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Watching Yourself Teach is Transformational by @TeacherToolkit Have you ever watched yourself teach a lesson?
This is a blog about observing yourself teach; and why and how video recordings of yourself teaching can be transformational in your own classroom practice. Context: As part of our staff professional development, this week we have introduced @IRIS_Connect into our weekly CPD session. As part of the process, we shared a number of observational footage – including my own journey – using IRIS connect. This is not only my story, but how we hope the IRIS will change teaching pedagogy at our school. For the past eight years on and off, I have been using IRIS connect to observe my own teaching practice. I can recall the first time I videoed myself back in 1995 as a trainee teacher, and then as a new head of department in early 2000. In my first senior leadership position, having then introduced IRIS connect to the school; I have continued to video myself as an assistant headteacher and now as a deputy headteacher. Aims: 1. To discuss how IRIS could drive standards of teaching and learning across the school; developing a reflective, supportive and developmental culture. 2. To reflect on a lesson observation; including in-ear coaching. 3. In departments: to think about the opportunities vs. risks. CPD: For the introduction of our session, I shared not only my personal aims of the session, but the vision for teaching and learning that I hope all staff will contribute to, and help shape. This post is merely to share what has been communicated with our teaching staff in our first show and tell CPD session. Here is an image of all the footage currently stored within my personal IRIS account. Despite having used Iris for eight years, this is just the footage that I have collated since commencing work at my current school last September 2014.
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Little and Often: Here are some very useful tips I have shared with our staff, courtesy of IRIS support. 1. Make participation a choice.
Give teachers the power to opt in and out! A choice to develop and share. This will not be compulsory.
2. Focus on ‘motivation’ and safety …
… to support a teacher’s intrinsic desire to improve their practice. If a teacher has a personal motivation to move their teaching forward then video can be powerful in helping them do so.
3. Establish boundaries!
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The power must lie with the teacher whose lesson has been recorded. It is paramount to be clear about boundaries, particularly regarding who sees a video and how it is talked about. An agreed protocol must be established and communicated.
4. Lead by example …
If you want to inspire the use of video CPD in your school, you need to show teachers that you believe in using it too.
5. Start slowly …
Implementing VPD (video professional development) at QK will not be a rushed process. It will be unfamiliar to teachers = no benefit. Encouraging teachers to volunteer to try out VPD.
Why Not? Video observation is not for everyone and nor should it be. 1. You’re too busy – You have a lot to think about when you are teaching! This leaves no room for you to be able to step back and see the bigger picture. 2. Habituation – When we experience something repeatedly we lose our sensitivity to it. We can easily forget about the joy of teaching! 3. Confirmation bias – a natural predisposition … or a tendency for us to inadvertently focus on evidence that supports (our) current picture of reality and ignore the evidence that goes against it. Video has the ability to cut through all three of these things, leading to a clear picture of reality and motivation to try new things. Questions: 1. Should we encourage this model of observing? 2. How often have you observed a lesson observation and intervened with students/teacher? 3. And if you have intervened, what was the impact/outcome? How was the intervention received? 4. How can the school establish a model where teachers can watch the observer, observing and providing incisive feedback before, during and after the lesson?
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@OfstedNews 22 Years On by @TeacherToolkit Do you agree with Michael Wilshaw, that we face the biggest changes to school inspection in the last two decades? More importantly, do we need more changes? Do we want/need a self-reforming watchdog? In this blog, I capture the highlights for all busy teachers to read in less than 5 minutes. A Common Inspection Framework: On 15th June 2015, Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Ofsted announced the following in this press release. The event in London, is the first of 8 conferences around the country designed to share the details of the new inspection model with the sector.
Highlights: 1. From September, Ofsted will inspect good schools (typically lasting one day) and further education and skills providers once every 3 years under a new short inspection model. 2. “Leaders will have nothing to fear from accurately identifying at the outset any weaknesses in their provision – as well as the strengths – based on their own evaluation.” said Wilshaw. On the importance of recognising these achievements, Sir Michael said: “Those leaders who are taking risks, putting themselves out and disseminating good practice beyond their own institution need to be celebrated as exceptional reformers.” These colleagues will relieve a letter to them acknowledging their leadership as exceptional. Page 21
3. A common framework for inspection is being introduced encompassing registered early years settings, maintained schools, academies, non-association independent schools and further education and skills providers, so that common judgements and terminology can be used across all these sectors. 4. Ofsted’s complaints process will open up to have to greater accountability. Each Ofsted region will set up a ‘scrutiny committee’ made up of HMI and teachers not involved in carrying out inspections for Ofsted. They will assess and rule on the internal reviews of complaints about inspection. 5. The new school year will bring significant changes to the way Ofsted contracts with, trains and manages inspectors for schools and further education and skills providers. Ofsted Inspectors will be directly contracted by the inspectorate, and will undertake inspections. Seven out of 10 of these inspectors will be serving practitioners from good and outstanding schools and colleges. All of their training, quality assurance and performance management will be directly overseen by HMI. On Reform: 1. We don’t tell teachers how to teach anymore – there is no Ofsted preferred style of teaching. Inspectors no longer grade the quality of teaching in individual lessons and no longer require teachers to produce lesson plans. 2. Inspectors do not require lengthy policy documents. 3. Reports are now much simpler, clearer and more readable for parents and families with an increased number of serving practitioners from good and outstanding institutions into the inspection workforce http://teachertoolkit.me/2015/06/16/ofstednews-22-years-on-byteachertoolkit/?utm_content=buffer5014c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&u tm_campaign=buffer
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#TeachingTruths by @TeacherToolkit This is a blog about #TeachingTruths most teachers would not be willing to admit professionally. This is a fun blog, designed to tease out a few teaching truths for non-teachers. I wonder if any of the following statements would shock anyone? On managing behaviour: You design your seating plan with the naughtiest students nearest to the door. This is either because the student(s) will arrive late, or you are likely to send them out of class. Either way, this seat is the shortest journey.
1. On classroom arguments with students: Not every child will like you, so in a classroom argument, you tell them you ‘don’t need any friends.’ 2. On marking avoidance: Snowed under with marking and towards the end of term, you ‘accidentally’ place a stack of books in a dusty broom cupboard and forget they are there. The cleaners recycle them … 3. On managing difficult parents: You shake hands with Mr and Mrs. Difficult at parents evening, smile and say; “Thank you for your support.” 4. On horrible children: “I can’t stand that child. If he spoke to me in the street, I’d … “ 5. On observing poor standards: I can’t believe [teacher] gets away with all that … 6. On influence and development: At some point, someone or something will make you change your stance on behaviour management. 7. On creating resources: You take ideas from other teachers; modify them and make them your own. Page 23
8. On teacher assessments: You just make up these levels and go with your gut; and if you copy and paste them, these reports will be so much quicker to complete and you’ll meet the deadline. No one will have time to proof read them. 9. On borrowing: It’s just a ream of paper! 10. On doing things because you have to: You set a mock exam paper (at the end of the year) with no intention of ever marking them! 11. On forgetfulness: Not knowing a student’s name at parents evening, you bluff your way through the 5-10 minute meeting and catch a glimpse of the child’s name at the top of the report, just as they stand up to leave. 12. On missing deadlines: “I didn’t get that email. Can you send it again please?” 13. On lesson planning: You have planned for the wrong lesson (so you improvise). 14. On performance management: You know your line-manager hates filling in the paperwork as much as you do. “Let’s just tick the box …” 15. On timing of lessons: You let the students out of class early and said you could trust them. A member of SLT has sent them all back to class. 16. On lateness: You ‘apparently’ had a flat tyre. 17. On professional development: Yes, you can read the PowerPoint at the same time the CPD leader reads each slide out to the audience. You give out a loud ‘yawn’ and turn a few heads. 18. On revision sessions with students: Why should I spend more time with you out of class if you can’t focus during it? (Oh yes, appraisal.) 19. On wellbeing: You really do not give two-hoots about school when you are not there. This makes you happy. 20. On work-life balance: Despite not caring about your school, you find yourself working all hours ‘for the children.’ 21. On career development: Yes, you are the only applicant and the school is desperate to give somebody the job. You decide you need the money more than the opportunity. 22. On pay progression: Yes. You really are going to be doing all this just to prove that you need an extra £100 per month! 23. On social media: You know those pictures may be seen by year 11. It’s too late! You touched the vino and tweeted at the staff party! 24. On meetings with the headteacher: You are glad you have a one-to-one opportunity to express your feelings and thoughts. On reflection, you cannot believe when asked, you said the idea was “stupid!” Page 24
25. On your own graded lessons: You pull out the old lesson plan that ticked all the ‘Outstanding’ boxes in the past. It works again and again, and after feedback, you go back to doing what you do best. Teaching with the flow … 26. On the school bell: You blooming hate that klaxon ringing in your ears every single hour of the day. However, your favourite moment is being caught walking between classrooms 2 minutes after the bell, knowing another member of staff will be standing at your classroom door managing your students to line up quietly. 27. On professionalism in the modern world: You really don’t see why exposing your tattoos, trainers and piercings in the place of work is a problem. 28. On staff room gossip: Yes, you really did ‘kop-off’ last night with [teacher]. You wonder if SLT know already? 29. On Ofsted: What utter nonsense!
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