Lesson observation part-time help!

[QueenVictoria11]

Is this worth the battle or am I wrong?

All staff have lesson observations this week. All told in meetings that they would have 24 hours notice of the observation but wouldn't be told which lesson it would be that day.

I got my 24 hours notice yesterday morning that I would be observed today but yesterday was my day off (I work 0.8). Feedback from observation was evidence of students progress not good enough and I said I thought it unfair that my 24 hours notice was during non-contracted hours whereas 24 hours notice for full time staff was in contracted hours.

Told to suck it up basically and that it made no difference as I should have been prepared anyway.

Now feel stressed and isolated. Do I have a point or am I clutching at straws? Any ideas?

I complained about the same thing and managed to get agreement that I should have 24 hrs of working days notice of an observation. This is symptomatic of one of the big issues in schools - the assumption that you're permanently available and prepared/able to work on non-working days.

Talk to union? That's rubbish.

Shouldn't the observation be recording your normal way of teaching? Do you actually need any notice?

To me, notice means that I can tell them the class is doing a test so there is no teaching to observe.

The point is that other people get 24 hrs working time notice, so it is inherently unfair. The question of no-notice observations is a separate issue.

Is there a competitive element to lesson observations? Isn't it about helping you to become a better teacher?

thanks for comments and support.

I felt it wasn't equal as full time staff got 24 hours working notice and I didn't. If no notice that's fine, but should be same for all.

There is judgment involved (of course) rather than competition and if not good enough then observed again more frequently which is stressful.

Of course it's not a competition, what a strange question. And equally, of course it's supposed to be about helping you to be a better teacher. But presumably you don't think it's ok for employees to be given different amounts of notice for the same thing?

Gin I'm guessing you are not a teacher. For an observation you need to have a copy of your lesson plan (probably on a particular proforma) for the observer. They need a copy of any materials you are using and seating plan. They need details such as how many students get free school meals, have SEN, are gifted and talented or have English as a second language. They would expect a written note of any students not achieving their targets and details of what you plan to do about that in the lesson.
Plus if a test or formal assessment was planned then that is useless as an assessment.
It's not as simple as teach like you usually do.

Oh and how you plan to use a TA.
Details of prior learning.
You can tell I've been out of the profession for a while!

I didn't have all those things in place and this was part of the negative feedback.

I'm being seen as a bit of a stirrer I think, as other part-time staff apparently just get on with it and don't have an issue. That's why I feel isolated.

That sounds so typical. Staff are afraid to speak up about unfair procedures. Those who do are then told "nobody else has a problem." It's not true. It's a convenient management perception.
Quick chat to union?
(And another reason I've left teaching!)

Wrong, Wolfie.

I don't think observations have anything to do with any other teacher I have no concept of fairness.

If you need to provide additional info, eg seating plans, how hard is that?

If the observation is truly inconvenient, push back!

If you think you have been judged unfairly, challenge it!

"I have no concept of fairness" - do you really mean that? Let's hope you're not a HoD or SLT then!

If the observation is truly inconvenient, push back!

LOL.

By which I mean, it sounds like OP did that already, and was told "boo hoo, get lost"

how hard is that?

Not hard, but it shouldn't be presumed that you can just do it on your day off (you may be working in another job/ have children to look after etc.)

yes thanks honeysucklejasmine exactly what I was told by 3 different SLT members.

You would have been in a stronger position if you had queried the 24 hour notice thing in the meeting, or immediately after it but before you were given your time, IYSWIM - then there could be no perception that you are trying to find reasons for your less-than-successful observation. Perhaps you could get this changed before the next observation - consult the union, ask other schools how they do it - tio remove ambiguity.

You could also look at your feedback and consider whether you would have had exactly the same points if the 24 hours had been in your contracted time. Presumably, in the latter case you would have had a normal teaching + marking load on the day before the observation, so the vast majority of prep for the lesson would have been in non-contracted time after school / in the evening anyway - but I can see that if you were caring for a small child until their bedtime, then you would not have been able to start your prep quite as early as a full-timer would (Being devil's advocate, a full timer could say that you were actually at an advantage because you had a full non-teaching day to think about and plan your lesson!)

If you didn't provide a seating plan because those are kept in a paper folder on your desk at school and you had no access to it until the lesson started, that is a reasonable excuse - had you been in school the previous evening, you could have picked it up and copied it. However, the actual progress of pupils in the lesson is something that is down to your planning and teaching, and that wouldn't necessarily be any different had you been contracted to teach until 3.30 pm the previous day, rather than not contracted to teach, if that makes sense?

I think if you can approach the SLT with an 'I absolutely accept x and y feedback on my teaching, but because I am part time I could not be expected to do z' then it is more likely to be received positively than a blanket 'My observation would have been fabulous if it hadn't been for the unfair 24 hours thing'.

(I have moved to part time. I know that my full-time colleagues would see that I had an advantage, not a disadvantage, by being given 24 hours' notice that fell on a non-teaching day. I'm not saying that is just or accurate, because they don't know what other commitments I may have, but if I start from knowing what their perception is, I can challenge it more effectively IYSWIM?)

I think it depends how you look at it.

On a work day, you have teaching duties, but also access to printers/ school network/ photocopier and colleagues for support.

On a day of, you (migh) have time, but not necessarily as many resources...