Earlier this year, Ofsted updated its “myths” document - the one that sets out what the inspectorate doesn’t look to judge in schools - with the intention of highlighting areas that are adding to teachers’ workload unnecessarily. Has it worked? Let’s see.
The document states: “Ofsted does not expect to see any specific frequency, type or volume of marking and feedback.” So can we wave goodbye to “deep” marking, highlighters and tick-boxes? Not quite. Despite it being neither effective nor compulsory, teachers are still spending hours marking. A teacher’s practice is still judged by what is “evident” in pupils’ exercise books so there’s an assumption that the more red/green/purple ink there is, the more the teacher has done to “close the gap”.
Ofsted continues: “Inspectors must not advocate a particular method of planning, teaching or assessment. It is up to schools themselves to determine their practices and for leadership teams to justify these on their own merits.” In other words, if it works for you and your pupils, then do it.
Despite this, attacks on the “charismatic” teacher continue. You know, the one who has a strong enough presence to teach a large chunk of the lesson with nothing but a board marker. “Teaching from the front” is still often considered by school leaders to be bad practice (even if it’s effective), and many who teach this way complain of lesson observation feedback being pernickety or inane. (How dare a teacher stand in front of their class and explain something!)
Why do these discrepancies still exist? It wouldn’t be ludicrous to suggest that senior leaders put policies in place for no other purpose than to monitor staff in order to hold them unreasonably accountable.
At the same time, we can’t let Ofsted off the hook completely. If senior leaders are still placing teachers under unnecessary scrutiny, it is likely due to a numerical target that has been forced upon them, ironically, by Ofsted. Still, the myths document does exist and, unlike Ofsted, senior leaders are within teachers’ sphere of influence.
What we complain about in the staffroom, at the pub and online must make its way into school meetings at every level of the hierarchy. While acting alone risks putting you in the firing line, if a substantial number of teachers express their views through their union representative (and are willing to back them up through words and action), perhaps we can put an end to this.
Omar Akbar is a teacher and author of The (Un)official Teacher’s Manual: what they don’t teach you in training
