The Importance of Pupil Voice
Do your pupils have a voice and actively participate at all levels of school life? The basis for pupil voice is found in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets out the…
To Grade or Not to Grade?
What to Do About Grading Lessons Judging individual lessons - to grade or not to grade? There has been a degree of publicity about whether Ofsted will be grading individual lessons and/or teachers, and what implications this has for schools in…
How to Observe Teaching/Classroom Assistants
The Changed Role of the Teaching/Classroom Assistant “Teachers and other adults authoritatively impart knowledge to ensure pupils are engaged in learning, and generate high levels of commitment to learning across the school.” This extract from the descriptor for ‘Outstanding’ in…
The Importance of Effective Lesson Observation
Why should we be observing? What’s the purpose? Recently, Ofsted has been making a real effort to try and rid schools of the misconception that inspectors should be grading individual lesson observations. In light of this, many of us may…
Customising a Parent/Carer Survey for Your School
Inspectors form an opinion on "..how effectively the school engages with and promotes the confidence of parents, including how well the school gathers, understands and responds to the views of parents (including the use of Parent View data)." Parent View…
What Makes a Good Teaching Assistant?
The excellent contribution made by teaching/classroom assistants to raising achievement in schools is recognised by teachers, parents and their children. Over time, there has been an increasing role played by support staff in the direct teaching of groups and individual…