Unfortunately, 3 Essential Documents for School Leaders in 2012

Jan 15 2012

The following 3 documents are of essential importance for school leaders in England and Wales for 2012. Unfortunately, many of them reinforce the accountability that school leaders have in the face of their employers – the Government. These documents must not dictate all developments in our schools despite the immense pressure that many of us are facing regarding improving outcomes. They do not inspire us but nevertheless, it would be irresponsible to ignore such guidance documents as they provide important details about criteria and processes.

The report by the Expert Panel for the National Curriculum review is an incredibly frustrating read, but still essential for obvious reasons. For example, it recommends compulsory take up of students in KS4 for History, Geography and MFL linking nicely with the anachronistic EBacc (Less prescription? Thanks ‘expert’ panel.) Regardless, its recommendations are likely to be accepted and this will have an impact on all Key Stages in England and Wales. I totally agree with Mark Lovatt when he summed up his feelings towards the National Curriculum Review:


OFSTED evaluation schedule for school inspections from Jan 2012
OFSTED Subsidiary guidance 2012
National Curriculum Review – Expert Panel Report

Hope you find them useful, but let’s not let them detract us away from the true purpose of education!

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Wanted: Work experience for Gove and OFSTED inspectors.

Jan 11 2012

I love this article by Mick Waters. What impressed me the most was a very simple concept:

“… if every Ofsted inspector as part of their contract had to teach for a continuous half-term every year, we’d see a better inspection system.”

Waters goes on to talk about how inspectors would develop more humility when observing teachers. Perhaps this could also be said of the people that govern the education system in the UK. Imagine the current education secretary Michael Gove teaching up to 5 or 6 periods per day, for 5 days a week, within a 7 week half term. I know what you’re thinking – he wouldn’t be able to hack it. In fact, the students would hammer him, especially if the following video is anything to go by:

I am of the opinion that all people who make judgments and decisions that involve schools, teachers and students should have direct experience of working within the contexts that they will affect. I’ve experienced 2 OFSTED whole school inspections: one inspector in particular was great – he worked in a local authority with teachers and students. Consequently, he did show great humility and appreciation when recognising challenging students and the expertise of teachers. Others I must say were less so. They seemed to be so far removed from the realities of teaching that their knowledge of pedagogy, classroom practice and learning was seriously lacking – yet they have the authority to grade a Teacher based upon a 20 minute period of classroom observation as ‘inadequate’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. Figure that out!

How can it possibly be right that people from the past, present and probably future, are making decisions without direct experience of what it is that they are affecting? Yes they have of course attended school – but surely you require more than this and their political convictions?

The photo of a post-it-note is from a recent 4 day training event that I attended with the NCSL at their headquarters in Nottingham. 40 participants collated 120 key learning points from the residential and were whittled down to just the one that I have highlighted – not rocket science but a poignant moment nevertheless. I suppose this is what attracts me to Twitter: real life educators that are doing brilliant things with students and people in schools across the world.

So if you’re an Education Secretary, an OFSTED inspector or a professional who makes decisions that affect education, show some humility based upon an appreciation for the craft that is teaching via first hand experience – it isn’t too late to get some. As Mick Waters suggests, get yourself working in a school and perhaps then you’ll learn some incredible things, from some incredible people!

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1% is better than nowt

Dec 23 2011

I’ve created lots of resources in the past but the problem is forget about the vast majority of them. As a history teacher I rarely use textbooks because they are either text heavy, too complex or too simple. As result of this, I’ve spent copious amounts of time and energy creating stuff. Today I stumbled upon my slideshare account. I used this to upload several GCSE revision powerpoints and used the site to embed them into a wiki that I created for students.

I strongly advise teachers to spend time rediscovering the material that they have created. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to build upon them by making them even better. Upload resources to places where other teachers can share or download them. A key aim for 2012 is for me to work smarter by sharing more resources and collaborating with others. Time is too precious for constantly reinventing the wheel so please feel free to use what I’ve created.

Below is something that I uploaded to slideshare 4 years ago. I’d totally forgotten all about it but to my surprise its been viewed a whopping 27,500 times. Its not amazing, but if just 1% of that figure was made up of teachers that have used it in a lesson it means that 275 teachers have used it – better than nowt!

Did Nazi Germany benefit under Hitler?
View more presentations from mrjportman

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C-Magazine 4

Dec 14 2011

Find below the 4th edition of ‘C Magazine’ – one way of sharing teaching and learning ideas at Campsmount Technology College. The purpose of it is defined below (aimed at colleagues from my school)

‘C’ is for communication, collaboration and community. ‘C magazine’ is about showcasing good practice. It’s about enhancing our professional learning community with articles that inspire and educate us. It’s also about collaborating with each other in ways that allow us to take risks, to innovate and to share our reflections with others.

As educators, we all strive to adapt to and meet the needs of all of our students, but on our own this is a difficult task. ‘C Magazine’ is one initiative designed to foster a renewed sense of shared responsibility to further improve and strengthen our expertise. Our learning vision will only be realised by sharing and developing our expertise accordingly.

All colleagues are invited to write articles on anything that may boost classroom practice, enhance our understanding of pedagogy or inject dynamism into our professional repertoires. Colleagues may have had particular success with an intervention strategy, attended an inspiring training day or developed new engagement techniques. Perhaps you are an LSA, NQT, learning mentor or head of department who is experiencing success in areas that other aspects of college life may benefit from. Whatever your role, please feel free to submit an article.

Check out the previous issues here

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Showcasing and sharing classroom practice: School based Teachmeets

Sep 11 2011

CPD sessions in the worst schools are done to staff. Teachers are passive and get bored when presenters talk at them for too long. Yet as teachers, we know that the best lessons buzz with ideas and engagement, and for me, that has to be a key element for teacher developmental sessions in schools – I’m confident that we achieve this within our Teachmeets.

After attending a couple of Teachmeets in Newcastle and Sheffield I decided to ‘borrow’ the format for my school. As a member of SLT, I have been able to calendar 4 after school gatherings across the school year (on top of other Teaching & Learning development meetings/initiatives and ‘C-Magazine’)

Our Teachmeets are informal and relaxed affairs: we drink tea, eat cake and fruit, and teachers from across our school present short bursts of effective practice that we know work for our students – in our school. The emphasis is on developing a collegiate approach to sharing and showcasing teaching & learning ideas. They come from those who teach everyday within our classrooms – and this adds weight to the effectiveness of their ideas: it shows that their ideas work, and this has to be key for encouraging others to take the leap of faith and try them out.

Colleagues choose either a 2 minute or 7 minute presentation slot. This helps to get lots of presentations in within an hour and, after a busy day of 6 lessons, helps to keep our concentration. Colleagues often feedback to me about how nervous they were for standing up in front of their peers, but they are always pleased that they stepped up to the plate – RESPECT!

The focus of the presentation is entirely up to the teachers. I’ve been tempted to focus Teachmeets on school priorities: AfL techniques or Literacy for example, but I’ve refrained from doing so. Interference from myself as a member of SLT would ruin the spirit of what Teachmeets are, and where their simplicity has been the key – showcasing what works for you in order for others to benefit. That’s it.

Staff now ask for sessions to be recorded and presentations to be centralized in order for future access. This is an example of their success: Teachmeets are beginning to evolve due to demand from ‘below’ (classroom teachers) – not from ‘above’ (SLT). Consequently, I am planning to improve the use of the Teaching & Learning Blog section on our school website where presentations can be accessed and referred back to long after the Teachmeet has taken place. Great stuff!

Click here to find Teachmeet locations and dates taking place in the UK and around the world

Reviews of 2010 Newcastle Teachmeet found here & here

* The Teachmeet advertisement below is taken from C-Magazine 1

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