Sir Michael Wilshaw will be confirmed in post on Friday (14th Oct). Credited with transforming a “low-performing” school in Hackney, via “strict discipline and a traditional curriculum”, Sir Michael is quoted as saying: “I will not tolerate any school being given an Ofsted rating of “outstanding ” unless it achieves outstanding academic results “. Of course we must wait until the expected interpretation of the framework becomes clear, but past Education secretaries, and especially Michael Gove, have beaten a path to Mossbourne Academy.
Talk for Teaching leads to improved quality of teaching.
QA South-West has helped many schools to improve the quality of their teaching. It’s a notoriously difficult thing to do, but through teachers and TAs reflecting together and pooling their collective intelligence, it can be done. ‘Talk for Teaching’ involves staff watching other teacher’s lessons together with colleagues.
We can be there at the start to demonstrate prompts, advise on positive language and to set school protocols, but the process is easily sustainable. Staff soon begin to take ownership of both the process and their own Professional Development. Teachers improve their own teaching and TAs improve their own work. In Dylan William’s words; ‘they get ‘better’ at what they do by seeing the work of others and talking about it, as it happens’. The improvements over a year are clearly measurable and the comments from schools and teachers who have participated in this process are just terrific. The impact of the process can be measured by hard edged outcomes: the quality of teaching, learning and assessment being judged to be secure, or strong, in your school.
Follow Paul on twitter” @PaulGarvey4