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Formal observations – Is it time to get rid of the grading system?

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Ofsted use a four-tier grading system; outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. Are these measures useful? Should we not always be trying to improve as teachers and collectively as schools. This is also the same for teachers and their observations, in the schools I have had the pleasure of working in, they have used a similar grading system to that of Ofsted. I heard somebody planning for an investigation, and speaking to a colleague they said “all I want is a good. I would be happy with that”. Is good ok? Why are teachers settling for “good”? Is this the same for school leaders in relation to Ofsted? Does this settling cause teachers effectiveness to decline over time? There certainly is added pressure on school leaders, middle leaders and subsequently teachers when they are graded by Ofsted as requires improvement or below. These grades sometimes do not consider the unique diversity of the school, meaning schools may feel beaten before the inspection team arriv
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Does having a family change the way you see teaching?

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I recently read an article on The Guardian – Secret Teacher ( https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/mar/14/secret-teacher-demotion-work-life-balance ) about a couple who have taken demotions, walking away from TLR’s and back into the classroom as main scale teachers.   They have done this in order to have more time with each other and as a family. This then got me thinking about my own experiences as a class teacher and were they similar? I am currently in my third year of teaching. I have completed all three years in the same school, mainly due to the support of the head teacher and my head of department. During my NQT year my girlfriend and I were working all hours, I would often be in school for 07:30 in the morning, leave at 16:00 so I could beat the rush hour traffic, I would then do another three to four hours of work at home, as well as a full day over the weekend. I was sharing resources, getting excellent feedback from colleagues, senior leaders and m
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How do we as educators narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged?

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The gap in performance, using the five A*-C (GCSE) measure was 29 per cent in 2011. It reduced slightly (to 27 per cent) in 2012 but remained at the same level in 2013 between advantaged and disadvantaged students has remained similar with the introduction of the points system (Department for Education. 2015). As educators we must strive for the best for all our students, disadvantaged or not. Pushing them to achieve their goals and helping students realise their full potential. This might help more students, especially white working class boys, go onto further education. There is a lot of interest about the gap, additional funding for schools and interest in what schools are doing about helping students who are disadvantaged. However, a large proportion of students who do not fall into the disadvantaged bracket, so do not get the additional funding or support, but are not from families with much disposable income and therefore should also be highlighted. Engaging all student
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White working-class boys, aspirations and attainment

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There has been a lot of talk about white working-class boys and how they are becoming more disengaged with education. From academics writing reports and politicians trying to push schools to ensure all groups have high aspirations to rappers saying white working-class boys are becoming more and more put off entering further education. A report by the Sutton Trust (2018) stated “w hite working-class pupils achieve the lowest grades at GCSE of any main ethnic group, with just a quarter of boys and a third of girls achieving 5 good GCSEs.” Strand (2014) found similar evidence, white working-class boys are the lowest academic achievers at 16 compared to other class groups. International rapper Professor Green, has joined in the debate saying in The Guardian “ for middle-class families, your education is your life. For working-class families, in some instances school is just school. You are not expected to do very well. You are expected to get out and do a job and earn. People hav
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