Do teachers get 'inspected' or just the school?

[drinkmoretea]

and if teachers do get 'inspected' is this just during an Ofsted Inspection or would they get inspected at any other time? (ie if a parent was concerned)

Teachers are inspected by OFSTED and observed as part of the school's cycle for performance management. I doubt that any school would 'inspect' a teacher outside of their normal circle purely because of a parent's complaint.

Teachers have lesson observations up to twice a year, depends on the school. Ofstead will also observe teachers but will report on the school as a whole.

Teachers are observed and graded during the inspection. You can't inspect and grade a school if you don't look at the most important and influential aspect.

An inspection covers the whole school, from teaching and learning, pastoral issues, test results to parental relationships, the effectiveness of the senior leadership team, the head teacher and the governors.

A teacher wouldn't be inspected just because of concerns raised by a parent. He/she may be observed and assessed by her head if it was felt that he/she wasn't meeting his/her performance targets but again, it's very unlikely to happen off the back of a parent's view.

We have at least three a year.

teachers can be observed more than twice a year, Ofsted don't inspect teachers. If yuo have a concern about a teacher it would be investigated, they may then be observed teaching as part of that investigation, but equally may not be. The new 'licence to teach' may change things...

Ofsted observe and rate teachers as individuals, thus are 'inspecting' them. However, the report does not include these grades or pass comment on individual teachers but on the quality of teaching and learning within departments and across the school. I've not yet seen the new framework though.

thanks for your replies...

really disappointed with ds1 Y4 teacher, he struggles and I don't think he's getting the support he needs.

I have spoken to the deputy after trying to get an app with the head and not satisfied. He came on so well in Y3 now feel like he's going to fall back.

His teacher is such a 'wet lettuce'! Parents surgery was a complete waste of time she barely said anything.

Not sure what to do next? Change schools??

OFSTED inspectors don't seem to observe whole lessons any more - I work at a junior school & there have been three inspections since I started. Only during the first one did the inspectors sit through a whole lesson - the second time they spent an average of about half an hour in lessons, the last time (in July) it was down to about 15-20 minutes, though they did go back to one lesson (which in feedback they said was outstanding)
But now they are only there for 2 days, and they spend most of the second afternoon writing their report & much of the first morning discussing the paperwork with the head & deputy. It doesn't leave a lot of time for lesson observation.

They are only allowed to grade a lesson if they've seen at least 20 minutes of it.

I think you need to write to the head, stating your concerns about your son's progress and asking what the teacher / school now plan to do and how you can support that. That way, it doesn't sound like criticism but like working together.

At my school we are observed each term by each of the core subject leaders, and by the phase leaders. The assistant and deputy head also observe us each once a term. A week doesn't go by without some observations of some kind!

If there have been a lot of complaints about a teacher then the school will have to look into it and that could include extra observations and going under scrutiny.

As others have said OFSTED rarely stay in for a whole lessns and report in general terms rather than on specific teachers. So they might say excellent teaching was witnessed in this department.

We are also observed as part of our peformance management, my observation is in a few weeks.

I think if you have issues you need to be precise with what you think is wrong. I have made very specific complaints about my own dd's teaching and they have all been dealt with.