'Teacher MOT'

[Pud2]

Just reading The Sunday Times about new standards proposed by Labour if they win the next election, and I quote:

'Teachers will have to pass regular tests showing they can control unruly classes'
'They will have to show they can use the internet and social media to find teaching materials and deliver lessons'.
Teachers will face a 'teacher MOT every 5 years'. Those that don't pass could be sacked.

FFS. Just what we need.

[NoelleHawthorne]

isnt this already part of appraisal though?

[MissMillament]

It is utterly ridiculous. We do all this anyway. It's called performance management. This is just grandstanding to show that Labour are doing something to solve a problem that doesn't exist. All it does is create even more suspicion in the minds of the public about teachers and makes it even harder for us to do our jobs effectively.

[rollonthesummer]

This is just blaming teachers for the poor, aggressive and violent behaviour of some children.

Is termly lesson observations and continual PMR not enough?

I was going to vote labour in an effort to get rid of the Tories and their hopeless education ideas but I cannot bring myself to vote for this idiot.

[Hulababy]

It just backs up everything is saying on the other "how many teachers have been assaulted" thread, doesn't it?

Basically - its the teachers fault if they are attacked in the classroom.

SMT and HT already minimise it, so with this, the Governnment, would be able to do so too.

[Pud2]

I find the bit about having to prove that we can use the internet to deliver lessons particularly patronising.

[PurpleAlert]

Are they also going to send inspectors in to homes to assess whether the parents can control unruly children too?

As for sacking teachers that don't pass the test- the rate that hoards of teachers leaving the profession are going, there won't be any left to sack!

[Mrsgrumble]

Well they deserve to encounter severe teacher shortages. What about the governments own accountability ?

[TheFallenMadonna]

Deliver lessons via social media, or just share resources??

I think that politicians genuinely believe that there is no appraisal system in teaching...

How would an unruly class test work??

[Stopmithering]

Further evidence that Education should be taken out of control of anyone in any government and handed over to a professional body who actually have a clue.
Depressingly shit and pointless idea.
Shame on you, Labour, you are letting us down big time.

[CrumpleHornedSnorkack]

Anyone who is serious about improving education needs to vote Green in May.

[rollonthesummer]

I can see this being used horribly against teachers. Little Alfie Smith lobs a chair at Miss Lovely and Mr and Mrs Smith demand to see Miss Lovely's MOT and demand that it's revoked and she loses her license to teach and is sacked as she clearly can't control children. They threaten to go to the press and the terrified HT backs them and cancels the MOT. Miss Lovely never teaches again.

[rollonthesummer]

Anyone who is serious about improving education needs to vote Green in May

I have heard a few teachers saying this recently. What are their educatio policies, I need to find out more about them.

[KinkyDorito]

I think this is really funny:

They will have to show they can use the internet and social media to find teaching materials and deliver lessons'.

I only search the internet for resources when I'm having a cba day... Now it is a professional quality. Fools.

Seriously, 12 outstanding years and I am sick to the back teeth of this rubbish and seriously considering what else I can do to make a living.

[CrumpleHornedSnorkack]

Green education policy it mirrors the education systems of Europe much more and is evidence based rather than politically led.

[DownByTheRiverside]

'They will have to show they can use the internet and social media to find teaching materials and deliver lessons'.

And then you find that the projector, speakers or IWB are of such unbelievably crap quality or so badly maintained that whatever your resources are, the children can't use them. or even see them.

[DownByTheRiverside]

Was anyone here teaching when they first brought in IWBs and many schools replaced the whiteboard with a screen?
Then spent the next holiday putting the whiteboards back in for all the times that the IWB didn't work?

[rollonthesummer]

Very interesting. Have just had a flick through. Am not so keen on their idea of opening schools all year round or scrapping grammar schools, but lots of the rest appealed to me.

[NoelleHawthorne]

lol

no one EVER Has a quick shufty at the TES resources data base. I see that as a failure when i sink that low!!

[NoelleHawthorne]

i started with a sodding blackboard. YUP. IWBs came in on maternity break.

[DownByTheRiverside]

I started with a blackboard too, and my handwriting was much better then.

[DontGotoRoehampton]

I find the bit about having to prove that we can use the internet to deliver lessons particularly patronising.
YY!
Someone in gvt has just discovered t'interweb and is kind enough to reveal this astonishing new facility to Luddite teachers. He forgot to remind us to wipe the chalk off our hands first tho'.
Thanks Mr Twunt Hunt.
Ooooh - I feel a limerick coming on

[barmybunting]

We are constantly observed, have to meet targets and tracked already... This just reads like another silly gimmick from the government. Yet we wonder why people are leaving teaching in droves?

If I am not an effective teacher, I expect that to be handled by SMT and if necessary, to be managed out of my job. This process will do nothing to support proper performance management.

As for using social media and the Internet to plan and deliver lessons... I dread teaching in a class with no black/whiteboard because half the time the laptop, Internet, speakers, IWB or some other piece of technology doesn't work. Waste of time!

[Hulababy]

Surely they only need to look at the usage rates of sites like TES, Twinkl, Pinterest, etc to realise that teachers are making good use of internet based resources.

As for social media - well, as most schools have these sites blocked, it will be interesting to see how they will assess that.

And yes, I started with a blackboard, then a whiteboard, then an IWB and now smartboards. I also now use iPads and apple TV. When I first started teaching computing we didn't have the internet at all, now we use a whole range of computing devices and various software and apps on them. And we have had the whole circle of IT, ICT and now back to computing again.

Seeing as last time an inspector came into my computing/ICT lesson they didn't have a clue what I was doing, so took my work for it it was right, I don't hold out much chances there!

[Hulababy]

BTW those struggling with technology - is it really that bad? And if so why? Is it the schools failure to keep up with technology, lack of technician,???

I use technology to teach every single day (I teach computing to EFS-Y2) and rarely have to revert back to non ICT due to equipment failure, even though some of our computer based software is pretty old. I do like to have an old school flipboard and/or whiteboard alongside too - but not instead off.