A moment's silence for the untimely passing of milly molly and spanglechick's weekend
- Thread starter spanglechick
- Start date
I really don't understand thisOfsted are a-coming!
Four days to do what humanly can be done. We're doomed, I tell thee - doomed!
School will be open 9-2pm sunday, and til 10pm Monday and Tuesday nights - and at all other times? Welcome to home: my work from work.
I work in the education sector (non-teaching), and we've just had a countywide Estyn inspection: so for a good couple of weeks leading up to the inspection, everything went on ice while everybody got ready for the inspection.
My confusion is this: we have an education system that is monitored - rightly so - in order to ensure that standards are maintained. Presumably, the inspectors are doing their job to get an idea of how the education process is operating on a day-to-day basis. Why, then, is it necessary for us to go to the lengths we do to prepared for these inspections? Is there something wrong with an inspection regime which doesn't work unless schools have had time to prepare for inspection, or are we getting this all the wrong way around?
Suppose we extended this idea. Suppose the Old Bill had to give you a couple of weeks' notice that they were coming round to raid your house to see if you were growing pot in the attic?
Should Ofsted/Estyn inspections be random and unannounced, and the standard they expect to see adjusted accordingly, or should schools continue to be given the opportunity to polish up their act because they know the inspectors are coming?
Not a go at you, spanglechick - quite the opposite, in fact, because if you didn't have to operate withing a system that has to prepare for inspections, you wouldn't be losing great chunks of your weekend in order to do so...
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
What's the difference between a plastic surgeon and an OFSTED inspector?
One tucks up features......
One tucks up features......
They were quite careful not to choose me as the person to get interrogated by the inspectors as our part of the service. I think that their suspicion that I might be prone to being a bit too outspoken was only reinforced when, at a team meeting, the head of service gave the two who were up for questioning a briefing sheet, and I suggested they could take it in with them and say "Hang on, I shall just check what I am supposed to say in answer to that question...".
I call that a win: I'd have only struggled to be nice to the inspectors, and seemed insincere.
I call that a win: I'd have only struggled to be nice to the inspectors, and seemed insincere.
I really don't understand this
I work in the education sector (non-teaching), and we've just had a countywide Estyn inspection: so for a good couple of weeks leading up to the inspection, everything went on ice while everybody got ready for the inspection.
My confusion is this: we have an education system that is monitored - rightly so - in order to ensure that standards are maintained. Presumably, the inspectors are doing their job to get an idea of how the education process is operating on a day-to-day basis. Why, then, is it necessary for us to go to the lengths we do to prepared for these inspections? Is there something wrong with an inspection regime which doesn't work unless schools have had time to prepare for inspection, or are we getting this all the wrong way around?
Suppose we extended this idea. Suppose the Old Bill had to give you a couple of weeks' notice that they were coming round to raid your house to see if you were growing pot in the attic?
Should Ofsted/Estyn inspections be random and unannounced, and the standard they expect to see adjusted accordingly, or should schools continue to be given the opportunity to polish up their act because they know the inspectors are coming?
Not a go at you, spanglechick - quite the opposite, in fact, because if you didn't have to operate withing a system that has to prepare for inspections, you wouldn't be losing great chunks of your weekend in order to do so...
I agree. And the inspectors wouldn't have unrealistic expectations. It's like the Queen thinking the world smells of wet paint. I have sort of given up caring. I think I'm a good teacher and, after spending the day making presentations for my room because that will apparently make me better, I have lost interest in doing anything else. I am just gonna do what I do and fuck it.
Very good. I'm going to be stealing that one!Sounds like the sort of thing I would have done
I think that's the right attitude mm
Ceej
Where is my mind?
Could be worse...in the 'old' days you got six weeks notice - can you imagine?
And dress nice, ladies, our Ofsted inspector commented unfavourably that the entire Leadership team was dressed in black! (We're all middle aged and portly, and always do fwiw). Last week of the summer term - eek. And one of the inspectors mistook the TA for the teacher in Yr1 and vice-versa. Hmmm.
And dress nice, ladies, our Ofsted inspector commented unfavourably that the entire Leadership team was dressed in black! (We're all middle aged and portly, and always do fwiw). Last week of the summer term - eek. And one of the inspectors mistook the TA for the teacher in Yr1 and vice-versa. Hmmm.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
That happened to me once! I'm a TA. I think it was because I was old enough to be the teachers mum....
Strumpet
gypsy girl
Nicely put
I meet quite a few teachers, now. On balance, I'd say you can draw quite a distinction between the better ones and the average ones by how much they seem to need to change their game if there's an inspection or something like that going on.
The really rubbish ones go all out to put on a show - it's a bit weird how nobody seems to notice and question it...
Nicely put
I meet quite a few teachers, now. On balance, I'd say you can draw quite a distinction between the better ones and the average ones by how much they seem to need to change their game if there's an inspection or something like that going on.
The really rubbish ones go all out to put on a show - it's a bit weird how nobody seems to notice and question it...
Oh, the kids do. There is one who goes from loving to hating me at the drop of a hat (basically, treats me like a best friend and gets grumpy if I reprimand her) who I know is a complete loose canon, she could totally fuck it up for me if she is in an anti-me mood. She'll be all 'why are we doing this? we never do this!' and 'miss, di you ever find my coursework that I gave you twice six weeks ago'. etc etc.
By the way, your name makes me imagine you are Agnes Dean. Is this the case?
BlueSquareThing
With chips
I agree with you here. Last time they came to see us I wrote down a bit more properly what I was going to do rather than maybe have a couple of wee notes. And I made sure I was doing something a bit more interesting than "finish off..." They seemed happy enough.
You can't have them totally unannounced - if 75% of SMT are booked out of school that day on meetings then they'd end up sat around picking their noses all day.
To be honest I reckon they see through most of the total bullshit anyway.
If 75% of the senior management team was booked out of school on the day, inspectors would have plenty to do watching the kids and junior staff rioting.
BlueSquareThing
With chips
But it's all to do with the SMT nowadays - whether *they* know wtf goes on in the school. So no SMT with cleared diaries and Ofsted are fucked.
Entire school in fancy dress throws them as well btw...
I did hear of a secondary school that had non-uniform day on the same day that visiting teachers from its feeder primaries came for lunch as part of the inter schools liaison process. Not the same as an inspection of course but the fact that it was the custom for the staff to optionally dress up in school uniform on such days was overlooked in agreeing to let the two events coincide. That staff not directly affected were not informed led to some confusion.
gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
Last time we had Ofsted my colleague was teaching with an inspector present when a mouse appeared in the classroom - in an all girls' school. 
If so much as a fly dares to show its wings this is taken as an excuse to scream loudly and run around clambering over desks and generally act silly. Oddly it was that visit which took us out of "serious weaknesses".
If so much as a fly dares to show its wings this is taken as an excuse to scream loudly and run around clambering over desks and generally act silly. Oddly it was that visit which took us out of "serious weaknesses".Last time we had Ofsted my colleague was teaching with an inspector present when a mouse appeared in the classroom - in an all girls' school.
That really made me laugh. Just the thought. Bloody hell, they would go crazy.
gaijingirl
Well-Known Member
That really made me laugh. Just the thought. Bloody hell, they would go crazy.
It would probably be a blessing in disguise - you could be the world's greatest teacher but if that happens - what can you do?
I can't help but notice how many of the nuttier posters we've had on U75 over the years have been teachers. Of course when I was at school I thought all the teachers were nutters, but until recently I'd assumed that was just my kids' skewed perception. Now I begin to suspect that they really were all nutters. Or many of them anyway.
I'm not!
And your colleagues?
Only Spangle.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
oi!
oi!
oops, didn't know you were about.
Gosh, you look pretty today. That outfit really suits you.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
oops, didn't know you were about.
Gosh, you look pretty today. That outfit really suits you.
'm wearing my dressing gown - which i charred earlier when i was doing the dinner.
'Something of a teacher'?
A teacher of something.
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