PGCE placement crisis, please help if you can

[Greensleeves]

Am sat here in floods of tears, feeling sooooooo pathetic and horrible

I am in my first two-week school placement and I thought I was doing really well - I spend hours on my planning, use a good range of resources and strategies, props, ICT etc, absolutely LOVE working with the children, no problems engaging/holding attention etc - was thinking I was doing well

my first "formative report", graded by the tutor after two months at uni, graded me "outstanding" in all areas, and I went into school with a good attitude, enthusiastic, dedicated and ready to learn from the teachers and take everything on board

I do NOT have a problem taking criticism if it is fair and constructive

but after a week in school, my second "formative report" had to be done by the head teacher in conjunction with the class teacher I have been working with - and it grades me "satisfactory" in every single area - they are like ofsted grades, so satisfactory is one mark north of "inadequate"

on two of the sections the mark above satisfactory is "meeting expectations for this stage of training" - so according to them, I am not even meeting expectations

the other trainee who is with me in school has received exactly the same grades on everything - and he is brilliant, the children adore him and he is really, really effective

all the observed lessons etc that I have had have only had really positive comments and I have not been told of any weaknesses

I asked the head why it was so low, and she said "the teacher feels that as you have only been here for a week she can only grade you on what evidence she has seen"

this is rubbish - I don't mean to sound arrogant, but what she has seen, from both of us, has NOT been below expectations, and she hasn't said it was to either of us

I have tried so hard - spent hours on my planning and making resources and writing reflections, evaluating and scrutinising everything I do

it is just so unfair, and the university will wonder what the hell has happened between the first report and this one

the head said "well, the university tutors haven't seen you tach"

also the other trainee, who had his meeting before mine, was given a class list and a code for the school pupil tracker - I wasn't

gutted, and don't want to go back

Ime teaching buffets you around like a sizeable tornado. So, even if this grading is not right, it WILL stand you in good stead in terms of toughening you up against slings and arrows.

Honestly.

Other positives:

• the other excellent student has got the same. Would have been awful if he was on 'good'. Ask for the class list and code thingy - will have been an oversight I'm sure.
• satisfactory actually sounds fine to me, definitely NOT below expectations. At such an early stage, some staff will have it in their heads that they shouldn't give higher, giving you room to improve (stupid I know but a common misconception).
• your university know you've been outstanding and will have sent students to this school before. They will know the score.

I say yes to phoning your tutor, but do your best not to sob. Just say you're a bit confused by the contrast - is this normal and ok? They will reassure you, I promise.

If they call it a formative report then there should be loads and loads of stuff they have specifically listed that you can work on. If not, you could tactfully point this out and ask for some targets. If you tackle those with gusto, they will think you're brilliant - positive attitude and all that.

Good luck, don't be downhearted.

Don't take it to heart. It's a horrid fact that you are very vulnerable whilst teacher training, when your every move and even your personality is being dissected. Sometimes teachers/tutors/heads have got their own personal beefs and insecurities and take it out on students.

Given that you're so early in your PGCE, there is plenty of time for them to form a proper, realistic opinion of you. When I was in my first five week placement, my college tutor took against me after some issues with the school, and to my horror, even though the college was made aware of this personality clash, I got her again for my second big placement. I couldn't understand why my references were asked for twice and I didn't end up with an interview, so I asked the head to intervene who spoke to one of the senior tutors. She immediately took over the writing of my references, I got an interview and ended up with the first job I had an interview for. If you are a good student it will shine through, I promise.

Good luck, and keep persevering :) It's a very hard slog, but you'll get through it and it'll be worth it.

What HugosGoatee said

From a PGCE survivor!

We had this debate on our PGCE many times and it never got agreed upon - shOuld you be assessed against the main teaching standards, in which case you could never hope to be better than satisfactory in your first placement? Or it should it be about where you are at a given time, so you could be deemed very good for someone at this point in their training? I would just try to clarify that with your school or tutor.

Or it should it be about where you are at a given time, so you could be deemed very good for someone at this point in their training?
I feel some universities are working this way but then some NQTs I've encountered feel they are the finished article with nothing to learn and no matter how long you teach you continue to learn.

On my course, we were assessed on a separate scale during the course and it was only the final observation grade that was graded to Ofsted criteria. But lots of unis use the criteria all the way through.

Look - the main thing is to get constructive feedback, the course is a training course to train you to teach - not an ongoing test of your abilities. Try to stop feeling judged and just do your best. Being a strong candidate is nice, but no-one likes a competitive teacher, learn that now and just knuckle down and do your best.

Once you start teaching in the real world, you will get no thank-yous, no pats on the head and constant pressure and criticism so toughen up now.

I think that you need to toughen up. Of course you put hours in preparing etc. - we all do. I don't think it is reasonable to expect glowing reports, you have just started.

However, you could ask for concrete feedback of the class teacher. Has she/he noticed specific things you could/should be doing differently or should be doing and are not doing at present? You can then put a plan into action to address these issues.

You could also just wait a bit longer and give the teacher a chance to form a better picture of you. The teacher is not only dealing with you but also getting to grips with a class with new children. So be realistic in what to expect at this stage.

I am a gtp student, in my first weekly meeting I was told I'd be down as satisfactory because I hadn't had time to be anything else. I'm doing well at the school, improving my experience and class management visibly, my confidence is higher than it's ever been - and I'm still satisfactory! i know it can feel demoralising, I was told I'd be kept there for a bit to show progression etc .. my mentor is inexperienced and slow to give formal feedback, and often forgets about the grading but you know what the grades SO don't matter! it's what you are learning, applying and improving and you will know yourself to a certain extent how you are doing. I have every intention of being a good, possibly outstanding teacher - but I know I have shedloads to learn first! focus on that, keep going
xmas soon

and as for the grading I'd rather be graded as a satisfactory teacher right now than as an 'outstanding' trainee

I agree with mrz.
You've only been there a week. There is no way they can measure the impact that you have made on the class in that time.

Welcome to teaching :)

Seriously, I know you must be feeling very vulnerable now. Don't worry - just take a deep breath and repeat after me;

"Satisfactory is fine"

And it is.

This is an early wobbly moment but it will stand you in good stead in the weeks to come if you can deal with this now.

So have a night off the old planning, and get a good nights sleep. And don't over plan too. If you are taking hours that's bound to stress you out.

Oh that and have one of these too

Just been speaking about very similar to this with my DH, who is also doing a PGCE. The teaching is a wonderful experience, the kids lots of fun, the curriculum knowledge and implementation faultless, the planned lessons imaginative, and yet the mentor in the school will always always find something to criticise, even the smallest of things, making the student teacher feel small and demoralised. It seems to be the way of the world If you need to talk it out then why not contact your senior mentor at college, that is what they are there for. Adult to adult, no upsets. DH contacted his last week and it was very productive and it turned out he had not been given all the necessary paperwork to propely assess work, so he was unwittingly unable to proceed properly, hence making part of his work look deliberately unfinished.

You can bet your life most PGCE students on placements at this moment in time are feeling confused!

Hugo and Ninah are right - it is one evaluation after a week on placement. After 7 years I got a satisfactory and felt awful - but knew it was because my lesson was not up to my normal standard. I was 8+ months pregnant ( it was the last week before going on mat leave) and it really wasn't high on my priorities.
You still have a long way to go - if you are getting satisfactory at the end of the placement then you have every right to be upset.
Keep going - stay positive and drink wine!!!!

This happened to me, sort of. I got good/ outstanding on my first teaching practice then on my final one, with a different tutor, he almost failed me. The school complained to my college because they felt I was doing well. It was all sorted out and my tutor was an arse

First of all, stop worrying, you sound like you're doing really well and are wonderfully enthusiastic. I wish I still felt like that..Talk to the teacher tomorrow and ask what you need to be doing to 'improve'. I'd also call your tutor just to get a bit of perspective & advice. They might be able to reassure you.

My last observation was a but upsetting - the woman observing me raised eyebrows and said it wasn't very good then, when she fed back to me properly, said lots of positive things and seemed to change her mind.

Have a cup of tea.

mrs - it's a 2 week placement! I'm still a 3 after a whole half term. I think I might take your wine advice

Did you not talk the lesson through with the classteacher/the person who observed you? You should have gotten some feedback straight away (verbal and written) about what was good and where you can improve.

I don't think there is such thing as a perfect lesson. I have never taught one and neither have I seen one.

When I mentor PGCE students (in secondary) I am not expected to grade their lessons at all. Nor do I grade them at any point. I write a report for each placement, with the Q standard headings, referring to the Q standards in my comments, and set targets for the next placement/NQT first term. I wouldn't write a report after one week!

I second all of the opinions that say that 'satisfactory' is actually fine at this stage. I am on a career break at the moment but had many students (admittedly doing the BA QTS route) while I was teaching. I may have read this wrong but was the 'outstanding' formative assessment based on college work and assessments as opposed to being in class? I think that college has done you a disservice by raising your expectations a bit as to what you are likely to be graded as in your first week on placement.
I remember when OFSTED changed the gradings and all of the comments about the word 'satisfactory' but it is fine to be assessed that after a week. I hope that you will have a successful placement and I'm sure your grading will improve. It's really important to develop a positive working relationship with the class teacher and ask for clear targets for each week. If they are being a bit vague giving lesson observation feedback, ask directly what you could have done to get you up to the next grading. Also, I know it's hard but try not to compare yourself with the other student. Good luck.

PGCE is so tough, that kind of assessment at that stage doesn't sound helpful. It sounds like you're doing fine, you could ask your classteacher for one or two areas to focus on so that you can make identifiable progress, but otherwise I'd just keep on doing what you're doing and hang on for the next observation.

You will look back in about 10 years time and realise that you didn't actually know what you were doing 2 weeks in to your PGCE and satisfactory was fine.

You fellow student is not 'really, really effective'. He just hasn't had time to be. You need to meet a hundred different types of learner ten times over, deal with all their different situations and incidents, laugh, cry, see a few different settings from the inside, learn more, practice, fail, try again, watch a miriad of different colleagues with their individual strengths and weaknesses and build their experiences into your repertoire. Then maybe you can start to be truly 'effective'.

The main piece of learning you need to do right now is to grow a thicker skin so you make it 10 years down the line to see all this.

I would imagine that to get a 'good' you would have to prove that you are consistently good. You can't be consistently anything after just a week.

I don't know a single good teacher who would say they were prepared for the realities of teaching at the end of their PGCE never mind at the very first placement.

It is quite possible that the maximum grade you can be given at this stage is satisfactory. My mentee (?) is doing well but the uni allow for; unsatisfactory, working towards satisfactory and satisfactory. He knows that he is doing well for the stage he's at but is also aware that at this stage he doesn't have the knowledge or skills to be ranked higher. Please develop a thicker skin because you've got years of this ahead of you....... Just wait till it's that bunch of failed teachers named OFSTED rating you. Good luck!

Nothing wrong with being satisfactory. You are a trainee, just starting out and have a lot to learn. Remember the role of observing in school is to look at how well the children are learning. Planning, resources, evaluations etc may be marvellous, but did you show in your lesson that all the children made progress? That's what they are interested in.