About lesson observations and Ofsted' reporting

[debbie]

This is the blurb that accompanies the recording of 'The Report' about the Ofsted debate:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03tt7lh

Ofsted

Duration: 28 minutes

First broadcast: Thursday 13 February 2014
After a turbulent few weeks for those at the top of the schools' watchdog Ofsted, with headlines about critical reports, and personnel changes, Phil Kemp asks if this public row has distracted from the real struggle going on at Ofsted. The programme investigates why the political right feels that some inspectors have been captured by an outdated progressive approach to teaching. The programme reveals that Ofsted's leaders are rewriting inspection reports, removing phrases that imply criticism of particular teaching styles. The fightback against the educational theories of the progressive left has been dubbed the battle of the Blob. Who is winning?

The programme includes interviews with Michael Cladingbowl, Ofsted's National Director of Schools, Former School's Minister Nick Gibb, Anastasia De Waal, Deputy Director of Civitas and teacher and education blogger Andrew Smith.

And this is the actual recording:


http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/rad ... -2030a.mp3

I have found this to be a very interesting Radio 4 recording - a culmination of the issues surrounding Ofsted reporting - and various aspects of politics running alongside.

It features 'Andrew Old' (influential 'Scenes of the Battleground' blog) and former Schools' Minister, Nick Gibb, and Michael Cladingbowl HMI - the gentleman we have debated with (unsuccessfully) regarding the 'extraneous' phonics practice promoted via Ofsted video footage.

Anyone following the debate on Ofsted reporting, progressive versus direct teaching, enforced academy conversion, and Gove and Wilshaw's recent misunderstanding should try to find half an hour to listen to this podcast!

Interesting to put a voice to 'Andrew Old'!

[debbie]

Yet another blog posting on 'The Learning Spy' blog about this issue of Ofsted reporting - clearly very, very topical right now:

http://networkedblogs.com/TVgpx

What inspirational teaching looks like according to Ofsted

So, as we know, Sir Michael Wilshaw is determined to make clear that Ofsted has no preferred teaching style. Right? Wrong.

So, I’ve got nothing against ‘engaging, fun, seemingly unconnected tasks’ per se except that if we’re going to spend time on them then we can’t do something else instead. You may believe that ’engaging, fun, seemingly unconnected tasks’ are in fact the very best way to start a lesson, but Ofsted’s not supposed to believe any such thing, and there’s a real danger that Wilshaw’s message is going to get lost in the clutter of Inspector Gadget and his ‘engaging, fun’ chums.

[debbie]

Here is a good description of the effect of grading lesson observations and the associated negativity on morale and health:

Secret teacher: Outstanding to inadequate in six weeks

Using lesson observations to improve teaching standards is a high-risk strategy. If enthusiastic new teachers are told they're inadequate, many won't stay long enough to improve

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-netw ... servations

Just before Christmas, I had a lesson observation by an external consultant. My lesson was graded outstanding and, as a teacher fresh out of induction, I was pretty proud of myself.

During my newly qualified teacher (NQT) year, I had never been graded less than good. But to get that outstanding as a fully qualified teacher felt like something special; at the very least, it validated how hard I was working and justified the sacrifices I was continually making in my work-life balance.

Roll on six weeks, and I was observed again by a different consultant – and this time my lesson was graded inadequate.

To say this was a shock is a huge understatement.

[debbie]

This provides a good record of national developments regarding the 'raging debate' about the role of Ofsted with various useful links:


https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities ... 0900810988

Ofsted: winds of change
Charting the inspectorate's journey of change.

About this community

Ofsted is currently at the centre of a raging debate in England. There are many indicators pointing to significant change coming. This community will attempt to chart that journey of change, for all those who may be interested.

Please feel free to add content.

You may also be interested in the other communities I curate:

Assessing Children's Learning

The New National Primary Curriculum

You can also follow me @JulesLilly and follow @BeyondLevels an account managed by myself and Dame Alison Peacock, which encourages and facilitates teacher to teacher, and school to school support and collaboration.

[debbie]

cazzypotsblog again pointing out the ludicrous nature of an example of a graded observation form:

Lesson Observations: They’re just a game, really, aren’t they?
Posted on February 13, 2014

http://cazzypotsblog.wordpress.com/2014 ... rent-they/

Furthermore, and perhaps even more worryingly, I still cannot for the life of me figure out the new, improved and (supposedly) less prescriptive observation form. I simply fail to see how it is humanly possible to successfully evidence all of the requirements in a single lesson.

In addition to this, there are some statements on that form that seem to make very little sense. I’d be very interested in comments on the following:

[debbie]

Oh my goodness - I suddenly remembered that I had written about this issue of formal discrete and measured lesson observations as long ago as March 2006 in 'Teaching and Learning'!

You will see that my interest in this topic is not just current - and you will see why I am so very interested in these recent national developments!

http://www.syntheticphonics.com/article ... 20rule.pdf

Divide and rule

Debbie Hepplewhite continues her points of contention series and looks at the emotive area of inspections.

Introduction

I uphold entirely the need to be accountable for the quality of our teaching. I disagree entirely with the manner in which we are held to account.

I am convinced that we need a radical change in our stressful teaching climate, which many of us attribute to the combination of immense and impractical interference in our schools and a draconian inspection regime.

My suggestion is that inspection in its many guises, along with the bureaucratic, target-setting and league tables regime, bring out the worst of human nature and causes untold misery for teachers and pupils alike.

As target-setting and tracking reaches down even into our nurseries, I have no doubt that those in authority have finally and completely lost the plot and it is long overdue that we instigate some ‘upwards evaluation’ with a view to radical changes.

A better way

Ofsted inspections and the‘one side only’public reporting system pre-supposes that there is only one way of making significant improvements.There isn’t.

Inspections pre-suppose that the Ofsted criteria for measuring success is correct, and that inspectors use the criteria objectively and make the correct judgements. There is no mechanism by which one can truly question this or even agree to disagree.

One of the most debilitating aspects of modern teaching is the growth of classroom monitoring – specifically the measuring of discrete lessons. Whether at the level of HMI inspection or school senior management observations, the culture of formality is spreading like a
fungus.

Increasingly, I hear that observations by colleagues must be assessed by Ofsted criteria and Ofsted judgements must be made. This is no less than inspection by stealth – and conducted by our own colleagues. It is an insidious development and teachers, in my opinion, should object.

One of my heartfelt opinions is that the measuring of the ‘discrete’ lesson is to totally disregard the entirety of a teacher’s practice. Practice that is massive. Practice that takes up evenings, weekends, often holidays, every waking thought, even some sleeping ones.

Where is the measure/judgement on the feedback form of the teacher’s heart, spirit, commitment, hours spent, relationship with pupils, colleagues, contribution to the staffroom, fundraising, running of clubs, putting on performances, dragging partners in to paint walls and dig weeds. There is so much more. So much more that is never really measured and accounted for. So much more that you know and I know but that the system totally disregards.

[debbie]

Just read this via the 'Outstanding To Good' blog:

The Impact of the Pedagogy Police

http://outstandingtogood.blogspot.co.uk ... e.html?m=1

This post is written as a direct result of an argument over the weekend, caused by this blog by Joe Kirby. In it Joe takes issue with a couple of books and pulls them up on the fact that their work is not based in 'researched reality', but in their own personal experiences. Personally I thought it was a fairly innocuous but well considered and argued blog. I did not anticipate the twitter storm over it.

The term 'pedagogy police' was used as a derogative term towards blogs like Joe's by Ian Gilbert in the ensuing argument over his post. I think the pedagogy police are absolutely vital, and I will hopefully show how they have changed debate and driven massive changes in education in this country.

Who are the pedagogy police? I don't want to miss anyone out, or label people who don't want to be but in my experience (i.e. those who have directly impacted and improved my classroom practice): Harry Webb, redorgreenpen, Kirby, Old Andrew, Tom Bennett, Prof Coe, all those teach first bloggers too numerous to name but you know who I mean, some blogs that appeared once and then disappeared, anyone really, who has challenged orthodoxy in education.

The pedagogy police (as far as I can make out, hereafter PP to save valuable time as I am not on half-term) are a collection of bloggers, academics and authors who have challenged the status quo in education. They have said things like: 'lesson observations do not raise standards,' 'learning styles are bollocks,' 'working in groups is NOT the best way to educate kids,' 'direct instruction from teachers is a far more effective teaching strategy than discovery learning' etc etc. The impact has been immense and is slowly challenging the hegemonic structures our education system rests on. They are partly the reason I can say to my head: "I sit them in rows because it is a far more effective position for learning" and she cannot argue with me.

[debbie]

Imagine if all the teachers in England followed these blogs and the current national debate closely.

Would they stand up for themselves more?

The very sad thing is that overworked, overwhelmed, overstressed teachers are in no fit state to challenge the status quo in their own schools where they are over-observed and unfairly judged.

[debbie]

Further thoughts from 'Learning Spy' which could be described as perception versus results.

A tale of two lessons: further thoughts on the Cult of Outstanding

January 20, 2014

http://www.learningspy.co.uk/learning/t ... tstanding/

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . .

Since writing last week about the problems with the sorts of lessons which typically get judged as outstanding, I thought it might be helpful to illustrate further what I mean by describing two lessons* I observed last year.

There’s no question that the pupils in Lesson 1 were happier, performing better, more engaged and better behaved. The weird thing was that the teacher of Lesson 2′s exam results were much higher. And consistently higher – over the previous 5 years they had outperformed every other member of the department by a fairly significant margin. She is quirky, fiercely intelligent, remarkably knowledgeable about her subject and constitutionally incapable of turning out a ‘good’ lesson. The exam results for the teacher of Lesson 1 weren’t awful, but neither were they what you would expect. Could this be an example of short term performance gains actually getting in the way of long term retention and transfer?

[debbie]

More from David Didau of 'Learning Spy' describing a recent meeting that he, and others, had with Michael Cladingbowl HMI.

David sounds decidedly optimistic about the hope for Ofsted change but I had to take the opportunity, again, to describe my own experience (with others) regarding exchanges with Mr Cladingbowl behind the scenes which have taken considerable time and effort over this last year - to no avail.

Read David's description of the meeting followed by my subsequent reader's comment if you are interested in this issue:

On the subject of lesson grading, he [Cladingbowl] said, boldly, categorically and unequivocally that inspectors should not be grading individual lessons, and they should not be arriving at a judgment for teaching and learning by aggregating lesson grades. This is huge. I’ve gone on record as saying “Ofsted will no longer grade lessons with a maximum of three years.” I was wrong! Ofsted will no longer grade lesson as from now! And further: if schools experience an inspector who fails to tow this line he want to know about it. I told him about my encounter with a rogue inspector and he made it clear that he wants to reign in the excesses of additional inspectors who also work as consultants. The message was clear: if you hear an inspector advising teachers to teach in a particular way, he wants to hear about it.

http://networkedblogs.com/TWsYi

David concludes:

This is all positive. Ofsted want to be better. They are listening. It’ll probably never be fun to be inspected but maybe, some day soon, they’ll no longer be the blight they have been.

But meanwhile, there is still plenty of evidence that Ofsted reporting and video footage do suggest biased preferences of teaching and learning 'styles' and inspectors acting in a consultancy capacity for 'mocksteds' are still commonplace are they not?

Personally, I think that is a form of corruption when the same people who perform Ofsted inspections, or who capitalise on being 'Ofsted trained' are also charging schools for 'mocksteds'.

Perhaps there should be an investigation into these 'mocksteds' instead of them continuing at great public expense?

[debbie]

Sensible comments from Michael Tidd via his 'Ramblings of a Teacher' blog:

More haste: more chaos!

http://michaelt1979.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ore-chaos/

It seems that the haste extends beyonds the bounds of the department, too. Much has been said in the last couple of days about the meeting of some well-known bloggers with officials from Ofsted. As David Didau posted in his blog on the meeting:

On the subject of lesson grading, he said, boldly, categorically and unequivocally that inspectors should not be grading individual lessons, and they should not be arriving at a judgment for teaching and learning by aggregating lesson grades.

At first this seems to have been music to the ears of many: official word that lesson grading shouldn’t be happening in inspections, and the implication that schools should cease the practice immediately.

Except the words of the official from that meeting don’t seem to match with the evidence from the documentation that guides inspectors in their work.

[debbie]

Marion Hobbs in New Zealand writes a very interesting piece on her views of lesson observations and judgements as they have arisen in England - really worth reading!

My Experiences in England: lessons for New Zealand education.

My aim is to write a number of blogs on different aspects of schools in England. Governments, both Labour and Conservative, wanted to see major improvement for all students in England. They therefore began the search for accountability, and in so doing have created formulaic responses that in the worst cases have taken the creativity from teaching and from learning.

http://marianhobbs.com/2014/02/17/my-ex ... ign=buffer

In a judgemental school where the senior team are trying to lay blame for poor progress on the teachers, the observation routines can become a means of putting teachers down, rather than of lifting the learning.

Lesson observation is a positive means to improving how we teach. But when this tool is used for pay and promotion purposes and for judging the school, it becomes a whip, something to be feared, rather than something to be welcomed, because you, the teacher can learn from it.

I believe that where we were in New Zealand in the 1990′s where observation was collaborative and supportive, is where observation can be of most benefit. I value observations including the emphasis on feedback to students, the use of the student voice and evidence of knowledge of where each student is at in their journey, but I am very wary of how these good practices can be abused and actually work against good learning and teaching.

Most importantly, the purpose of such lesson observations must be clear. They cannot serve two different purposes: lifting the learning and teaching within a school AND a tool for pay/promotion progress. That confusion of purpose endangers the really good things that can come out of a positive observation practice within a school community. Sadly, it is in schools where their relatively poor student achievement indicates that improvement in learning and teaching is urgently needed, that the different purposes of lesson observations can become so confused and where poor practice in observations is the norm.

[debbie]

From the 'Ponderings and Musings' blog - a heartfelt plea from a primary headteacher giving multiple reasons for embracing the primary sector specifically in discussions with Michael Cladingbowl HMI:

Blimey, where did that come from?


http://lordlit.com/2014/02/20/blimey-wh ... come-from/

Yesterday, there was a flurry of blog activity to celebrate the fact that Mike Cladingbowl had invited a range of edu bloggers to OFSTED towers to discuss issues they had included in their blogs. These were Tom Bennett, Ross McGill, Sheena Lewington, David Didau and Tom Sherrington

The blogs written were pleasing to see and there were some incredibly important matters discussed which covered the main issues in education. They can be found here
Ross McGill – An edu-blogger mandate for @ofstednews by @teachertoolkit
Tom Bennett – Meet the Fockers: Ofsted talks to the Bloggers
David Didau – What I learned from my visit to Ofsted
Tom Sherrington – Meeting OFSTED: The game has changed

These blogs are all significant and very much worth a read. There are some comments left, particularly on David’s blog which demonstrate the reason that this meeting was so vital.The comments from Debbie Hepplewhite and Elizabeth Nonweiler, about their frustrations with meeting with Mike Cladingbowl about OFSTED advisory films on the teaching of Phonics, show why there was some initial scepticism about the impact of the meeting. There was also a post from a blogger called ‘Danielle’ who countered Mike Cladingbowl’s assertion that inspectors now longer give individual lesson grades

I was observed by OFSTED yesterday, was told I could receive feedback at designated time- went for feedback, was told my lesson was graded as a ’2′ and why. Everybody else observed offered same opportunity! Certainly in need of clarification!

These comments and many more on Twitter being brought to Mike Cladingbowl’s attention justify the time all of these people spent attending the meeting particularly with the insightful questions and points posed by the attendees. But there was something which irked me through reading each of the posts.

Where were the Primary practitioners? In the panel you had prominent bloggers from the Secondary phase and one who is the most incredible advocate for governance but no-one from a clear Primary background. (I should point out at this stage that Sheena has taught in Primary).

I commented on the blog posting as it was so heartfelt and raised so many issues pertinent to primary, here is part of my response:

Very good post indeed – both professionally written and heartfelt.

I think this issue is more about the need for genuine collegiality amongst everyone and actual access to people whose role in life happens to be in an authoritative position so, in a sense, it is perhaps less about the need for representation from primary/secondary, or black/white and more about ACCESS TO the people who hold the health and career chances of (many) others in their hands – and by this I include the pupils, their parents and communities – because our current inspection process destroys lives, actually – and the fear of inspection is stripping the teaching profession of health and happiness.

And there is no need for this – there is another way.

For years I have been banging on about the need for ‘upwards evaluation’ and have even raised this with Gove, Balls and Laws during a TES conference. They didn’t even know what I was talking about.

[debbie]

More clarification via the 'Headguruteacher' blog - except that clarification is looking very tricky according to the various responses!

Meeting OfSTED: The Game has Changed.

The Headteachers’ Roundtable meeting at the DFE emerged out of discussions with Michael Gove last summer; it was something we’d been working towards for months.

The meeting at OfSTED was entirely different. Two weeks ago I received an email from the OfSTED communications team inviting me to the meeting on the basis of ideas I’ve expressed on this blog. Evidently, there is a recognition at OfSTED that the twitter-blog world has something to offer in terms of two-way communication.

Arriving at this meeting, none of us knew who else would be there and we were all attending as individuals, not representing anyone. However, in writing this – as David and Ross have done – I suppose we are playing a small part in helping to convey how some people in the profession feel and helping OfSTED to communicate their thinking. What we found was that, behind the slightly frightening OfSTED Wizard of Oz facade, there are real people trying to do good.

http://headguruteacher.com/2014/02/20/meeting-ofsted/

The OfSTED Game Has Changed.

Lesson Observation Grades Are Over.

Officially, this isn’t news. It’s been implied in the new framework for a while. However, for various reasons, the message has not been getting across. There are still elements of the written guidance that have yet to be fully aligned and, naturally enough, there are inspectors who have not fully taken on board the significance of the guidance. Mike Cladingbowl has been updating guidance to inspectors to make this more and more explicit – with evident frustration at how difficult this has been.

Most recently, OfSTED has issued some FAQs on school inspection policy: Here is the crucial bit:

[debbie]

Alex Quigley writes on his 'HuntingEnglish' blog:

Progress being made, but Ofsted still requiring improvement

Over four months ago I wrote an article beginning with the question: ‘What does Ofsted want?’ I stated that this question is perhaps the most powerful question in English education and has the most impact upon our practice in the classroom. The leverage that OFSTED has over our school system is huge and the single greatest (indirect) mechanism the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has to determine change within schools. Whilst people debate the efficacy of individual lesson observations, the larger question about whether OFSTED, in its current form, is fit for purpose remains largely unsaid.

A question I would ask would go a step beyond grading lesson observations. Is the whole process of judging teaching in schools based on a fistful of snapshots flawed? Should we not get rid of lesson observations and instead focus on the quality of school leadership, behaviour and achievement. If achievement is good then the teaching is working. If the leadership is good then the curriculum is being developed appropriately and teachers are developing under the continuous professional development system of the school. Behaviour can be observed by dropping into lessons informally; interviewing students; reviewing parent view; following an individual student, and so on.

As long as we retain the judgement for teaching then we will retain the worst of the uncertainties about ‘what do OFSTED want‘. Whilst this is still in question school leaders will still fearfully take to reading OFSTED reports, ‘exemplar’ materials and chasing OFSTED consultants who peddle the ‘outstanding lesson’ myths. This whole process of judging teaching in the OFSTED mode is deeply ingrained and needs a very public revision, ideally led by a more coherently redesigned process of inspection.

I understand why such national regulation exists for schools, especially when there is no other recourse to deal with failing schools, but it must be more consistent than at present. OFSTED quite clearly requires some improvement of its own.

http://www.huntingenglish.com/2014/02/2 ... provement/