School Days

As somebody whose wife is a secondary teacher, there is no doubt that the amount of work loaded onto the teachers has increased over the past decade. Yet, unsurprisingly, the results are little different. Notifications from on high (i.e. the academy trust bosses) decree new teaching techniques or requirements to be implemented pretty much each year. Most of which tend to add to the clerical load and don't relate to actual teaching. As a non-teacher, I have to say that many of these new initiatives sound like utter bullshit to me and I don't doubt that the head honchos at the trust who are ordering their implementation haven't done any teaching themselves for years. If you add in a new requirement for teachers which adds a couple of percent to the amount of time they need to do their prep for lessons, it might not sound too much, but when you keep adding them on most years, it doesn't take a genius to see that you're substantially increasing workloads. I don't think there are many geniuses at the trust which runs my wife's school.

It very much depends on the trust and the folk at the top.

I’ve worked for trusts where the top bods are innovative and are forward thinking, have a track record of serious school improvement and being great leaders…I currently work for a trust that isn’t necessarily like that.

Once upon a time, secondary education was much slower to develop, sticking to what they knew but that’s changed much. The wider issue is arguably teacher training and the way in to the profession, and retention. There’s no real incentive to stay in the profession, especially when you see increasing workloads.

Sadly, little will change. Many of the new initiatives are government led and based on flimsy or skewed research and evidence, promoted by the likes of Tom Bennett…whereas, plenty of research supports the positive impact and long term benefits of relational climate, restorative approaches and blended approaches to developing both SEMH and academic intelligence…this doesn’t suit the governments data obsessed, grades must be high because that’s important agenda.

It takes a brave Headteacher to take this route rather than the status quo, and sadly, for secondary schools, parents have bought in to the nonsense promoted by government too so it’s a tough choice.

Good leaders lead, good teachers teach, the two combined means effective teaching and learning and effective schools…

I’d also argue that good leaders and effective leaders stay abreast of what works and doesn’t work in classrooms…

That said, being a CEO is very different to being a Head or school based practitioner…

I know someone asked, I went to Lindsey, loved it. Had the lick and had some mega teachers who I hope have found their way in to my professional personality, naturally I had a couple of crap ones but you can’t win them all…

Not being involved in education (other than as a ‘consumer’ ie two kids in year 11 and one in the final year at Uni), it looks to me like education direction is decided by politicians rather than by what education professionals think is best.

Also culturally we seem to suffer from the British disease of amateurism. Ie we all think we know better than the experts, so we want to meddle. Though that is just my view as an amateur.

My kids go to an “outstanding school”. Which mostly feels like an exam factory to me. I suspect it’s ofsted rating is more to do with its results than any real added value. The best feature to my mind is that there is minimal disruption and expectations are high. Lots of petty rules though (outside coats must be dark! yet they issue comms which remind people to take care crossing roads especially in winter).

Can’t disagree with you there Kingston. League tables are the worst thing to happen for schools as too many things are done to propel up the tables. I started at one exam factory in town that was just starting to game the system to get the highest grades in NELincs. It lost a lot of its soul doing that and (my memory may be hazy given it was 25-20 years ago) it stopped doing the nice things like shows, trips to broaden horizons etc. at the expense of pass at all costs. I moved to a less successful school in town and the difference was astounding, trying to do things to help encourage learning and to challenge the status quo derived from parents (and in some cases grandparents) lack of interest, or outright hatred, in education. But something happened at trust level, they got cold feet and basically reneged on the support for the project they were giving as according to the education head, “Ofsted will fail that school”. They wouldn’t, in my time there it went from 92% attendance to 96%, must have done something right surely. But ofsted still couldn’t see past results so it was Requires Improvement. I still believe that if the teachers at school 2 were parachuted into school 1 and vice versa then school 1 would improve (the Outstanding one) and school 2 wouldn’t. I’m now out of area at an outstanding school that lies somewhere in the middle, we still get some stuff wrong (in my opinion) but the pastoral side is better than school 1 and the kids appreciate that.

I’m with you on the coats, we are the same, navy or black but then tell them to be careful at night 🙄. I guess we must live in a high snow zone and don’t want them knocked down by snow ploughs!

Quoted from LN8Mariner

Can’t disagree with you there Kingston. League tables are the worst thing to happen for schools as too many things are done to propel up the tables. I started at one exam factory in town that was just starting to game the system to get the highest grades in NELincs. It lost a lot of its soul doing that and (my memory may be hazy given it was 25-20 years ago) it stopped doing the nice things like shows, trips to broaden horizons etc. at the expense of pass at all costs. I moved to a less successful school in town and the difference was astounding, trying to do things to help encourage learning and to challenge the status quo derived from parents (and in some cases grandparents) lack of interest, or outright hatred, in education. But something happened at trust level, they got cold feet and basically reneged on the support for the project they were giving as according to the education head, “Ofsted will fail that school”. They wouldn’t, in my time there it went from 92% attendance to 96%, must have done something right surely. But ofsted still couldn’t see past results so it was Requires Improvement. I still believe that if the teachers at school 2 were parachuted into school 1 and vice versa then school 1 would improve (the Outstanding one) and school 2 wouldn’t. I’m now out of area at an outstanding school that lies somewhere in the middle, we still get some stuff wrong (in my opinion) but the pastoral side is better than school 1 and the kids appreciate that.

I’m with you on the coats, we are the same, navy or black but then tell them to be careful at night 🙄. I guess we must live in a high snow zone and don’t want them knocked down by snow ploughs!

My basic thought on this is that children go to school to receive an education.... not just to come out with exam certificates

I added my experience of school earlier in the thread ( Wintringham Grammar ) and while I did ok in my exams, I don't think they got the best they could have done out of me and countless others

Sure academically I was given some very precise instruction but the teachers I remember best showed us us that there is more to life than just studying their subject

I do realise that exams are the proof you have a knowledge of a particular subject and it demonstrates your own level of competency against someone else but finding out about life outside of the recommended syllabus is to my mind also very important in the greater scheme of things once your school days have ended

Very well said Tim 👍

Quoted from cmackenzie4

Very well said Tim 👍

Thanks Chris

Just my opinion but I think school should be used as opportunity to get everyone educated for life and not just used as a learning repository that churns out children with academic awards but little else

The only problem I see with it though is it's easier for the likes of OFSTED to measure and grade staff and pupils within a defined curriculum but.....when all is said and done, a happy fulfilled teacher & child relationship is priceless  

Went to signhills infant/junior school and loved it until a lad moved over from H*ll and made my life really 5hit (my hatred of the Mudrats probably stemmed from this!)

Then went to Matthew humberstone and had some amazing teachers. Tom Allen was probably my biggest inspiration in life and someone I always looked up to. He helped me with my county cricket trials (probably because I was playing for his team during the summer) and was just someone that was approachable. Pete Bonner also helped me through playing sports etc. One teacher that does stick out from that time was the poisoned dwarf, mr Mann!

But at uni, I was somewhat In awe of a teacher we had (along with our whole group). It may have been the fact that he was a wales international but, Neil Jenkins certainly could hold a lecture theatre but it was also great that another international player, Rupert moon, was in the same group for many lessons.