"Teachers" on TeachersTV Tonight

[zanzibarmum]

Did anyone see those "teachers" at LiLIAN Bayliss school on TeachersTV just now - more focused on manipulating which pupils took which level of GCSE Engish exam than on teaching a love of English and Eng Literature. I couldn't see any teaching, still less education, only an emphasis hitting 30% A-C grades - technicians not "teachers".

What a relief you're not talking about my school! We were filmed for TeacherTV last week!

I think you'll find that goes on in a lot of schools though.

And were they really only pushing for 30% AtoC? We're pushing for 60%!

whatever they were doing they seemed a tired bunch of old cynics - apart perhaps from one female English teacher who knew that the kids - the able and less able - were being sold short.

I am not sure it is any better in independent schools where the focus on league tables seems to drive a dozens of handouts (Brodie notes for A*?)and a fcous on the needs of the school (for right position in league tables) more than the education of the young.

DC's normal state school gets 80%, not sure how they they are doing it but DS yr9 came home with his book covered in comments this week. Every single sentence had been commented on. Even he appreciated the time the teacher had taken to mark his work.

I see schools teaching the children the marking scheme presumably somewhat at the expense of teaching the course content. If pupils are writing and thinking throughout their school lives based on what they are expected to trot out surely it impacts on how they view education - and their desire to challenge, to query and to test assumptions.

zanzibar, you are of course correct, but until the government stops setting targets and publishing exam results, schools like the one you were watching are not going to teach children to think and question and all those lovely things you would want for your kids. The whole system needs to change. I've taught in schools like that and sad as it is, that's just the way it is. Lower achieving schools cannot afford to miss their targets, quite literally. I don't agree with it, but there's very little that can be done until the whole system moves away from the publication of exam results and league tables. Just be thankful your own children don't go there, and, I'm afraid, take a reality check.

I didn't see the programme, we have OFSTED in on Wednesday so have been busy chilling checking everything is ready.

However it is possible to make your pupils aware of the way the exam paper is marked and still teach children to think, question and encourage independence. Infact teaching to the exam in a sausage factory style is actively discouraged in my school.

I do agree about those schools though under the 30% threshold. I recently left one and now teach in a school with much bette results and I do feel as if U am free to teach.

Have to agree with EvilTwins on this one.Sometimes at GCSE you are trying to cram 90 minutes of content into 60 minutes of teaching time, so you HAVE to get through the content. Sharing the mark scheme is imo a good thing, and as an examiner, I did this, so that the students could see why they got the grade they did for homeworks.

I expect they were tired as well. I used to spend my life permanently tired. It took me 18 months to catch up with my sleep and to stop waking up at 0500 worrying that I hadn't done my planning or marking when I left teaching to move abroad.

It's unfair to say that the results are all for the school. They are pretty useful to the students as well. A minimum C-grade in in English, Mathematics and Science opens doors for the young person.

We have OFSTED in tomoorow scary I am expecting a 5am Rising,

Good luck Morosky. We had them in today and yesterday.

Guess who doesn't work Monday or Tuesday

We have to improve our results. We have to do it for our school, and for our students. We cannot be rated higher than satisfactory by OFSTED because our results are below national average, no matter how good we are in other areas. In fact, in our OFSTED inspection, almost every rating was 'good', including teaching and behaviour, but attainment wasn't and we therefore could not be rated overall above a satisfactory. That is the reality of National Challenge. It's all about the numbers.

I am looking forward to it in a warped way, we are a very good school with fantastic staff and should relish the chance to show the world what we are made of.

TFM I do not envy you, I left my previous school as it became a national challenge school and it does all sound rather hellish now.

Do you mean that there is a great deal of cynacism with the system, TFM?

I would have thought that getting a kid a C-grade who might not otherwise get it is an achievement, worthwhile in itself.

If it has a knock-on effect for the school, then great.

If the school's strategy of raising achievement for its own viability means that unexpected kids get Cs, then it is a win-win.

Do we really need a negative spin? The key thing is that more kids are getting better result.

It would be worrying if fewer B kids get A grades because resources have been diverted, or that more minor subjects lose out, but it really does make a difference to tthat kid's life if they get a C-grade in core subjects.

Good luck, Morosky.

What kind of inspection are you having?

We are due an inspection sometime next year and are really gearing up for it. I want it to be a long way off so that I am better prepared, but at the same time I want it to be over and done with.

I mean we are massively focused on things like whether we should enter students for higher or foundation tier papers, we do BTECs and OCR Nationals and we are judged on our results. Of course we want our students to do the very best they can. That's why I said we have to improve our results for them. And God knows I love to teach and I want my students to love what they learn. But if anyone listened in to our conversations they might well think we only cared about results for results sake too, and I am at the suggestion that that might make me less of a teacher. Or indeed merely a "teacher".

Good luck with OFSTED Morosky - walk int he park

I don't think it will be a walk in the park, it has been made clear from above that we want nothing less than outstanding. But it is nothing to dread and in comparison to previous inspections elsewhere it will be pleasant.

Thanks

I hear that Ofsted are really being particular about all staff (teachers, LSAs, exam invigilators, peri music staff, kitchen staff...) are au fait with key school policies and the statutory stuff.

One of the schools in our borough - outstanding on all categories at their last inspection - was issued with a notice to improve a couple of weeks ago as it was reported that one for the exam invigilators didn't know a key policy.

They are massively strict on safeguarding BTW. That's the other make or break category.

It's another world Morosky

That's the one I was thinking of.

You basically have to know the policy inside out and be able to recite it.

Yes, safeguarding is the one now. Lots of stories (or urban myths!) about schools failing because a caretaker let the inspectors into the staffroom without checking their ID.

I didn't think inspectors could go into the staffroom. Talking of which I should go to bed as I am expecting my visit tomorrow