I am initial teacher training co-ordinator in a secondary school which has partnership agreements with three institutions involving some 20 trainees. I have to express my concern over Bill Laar’s recommendation that trainees in the middle of a final assessed practice are withdrawn from a school during Office for Standards in Education inspections (TES, January 27).
Is he saying that the scheme of work negotiated with the trainee is taken over by the subject teacher for the one or two lessons of the inspection week?
What happens to the contractual obligations with the training institutions and when is the missed week to be re-scheduled in a tightly- packed programme?
I naively thought that the OFSTED inspection was to see a school in everyday action, not to inspect special situations.
N P WILLIAMS
Aldridge Road
Great Barr
Birmingham
