Classroom Observations

CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS

Nicky Downes (Coventry NUT)

Classroom observations are now one of the main areas of query raised by our Reps in Coventry.

The number of observations has increased dramatically in all schools with some teachers being observed on average twice a term. This has placed unnecessary stress on staff. All this when there is no evidence that increased classroom observations actually raise standards.

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‘Drop-ins’ are clearly a dangerous loophole that gives Heads the ability … to bully individual staff.

he other main concern is about who can observe. We’ve had members been observed by two or more people on a regular basis. There have even been suggestions that they should be observed and assessed by pupils and governors.

Classroom observations can play a valuable role in the professional development of teachers if they are undertaken by peers to both share good practice and to encourage a fair appraisal of a teacher’s professional practice. However, the current draconian system of observations is used to make judgements about individual teachers that can then be used to determine their pay and progression. They are a method of policing teachers and can be used as a tool to bully and harass individuals.

The new Performance Management arrangements will further reinforce this. Strict limits on the amount of time a teacher is observed in a year is necessary in the current climate. The “three hour limit”, however, is not accompanied by a limit on the number of observations that can be carried out. As with so many new procedures it is down to individual schools how this is interpreted. This is clearly open to abuse with some teachers being observed for 6 half hour periods or more and some getting less than 3 hour long observations.

Any teacher knows how incredibly stressful an observation is. Particular when the performance in an observation can have a direct affect on pay. Observed lessons are expected to include all the current examples of the latest ‘whiz-bang’ techniques. In Primary this comes in many forms: partner talk, thinking time, WILF and TIBs. Don’t forget to add as much interactivity and ICT, including the use of cameras and lap tops, as you can cram in. You feel like you’ve run a marathon at the end, and to top it all in the assessment of the lesson there will be constant references to pace.

What is more concerning will be the way individual Heads interpret the term ‘drop in’. I recently sat down with my Head to negotiate on my schools Performance Management policy. When it came to classroom observations she said ‘now here I expect we will disagree’. Although she accepted all the points raised on the number of observations and how they should be carried out it was the ‘drop ins’ that caused the disagreement.

I did finally get some agreement on interpretation that was acceptable but ‘drop-ins’ are clearly a dangerous loophole that gives Heads the ability to use informal observations of teachers to bully individual staff. It basically negates any of the limits put on observations included in the RIG guidelines for Performance Management.

Part time teachers also need protection. In a recent survey in my LA they were the least likely group to achieve progression on the UPS. There is no caveat for them to ensure fairness and it is likely that they will be expected to undertake the same number of observations as full time teachers in a school. This is a clear example of discrimination. The hours of observation should be pro rata to the hours worked. Part time workers should be fully trained and supported to achieve deserved pay increases and not to have to work the hours of a full timer to achieve this.

What is clearly essential is that all schools adopt a fair and achievable set of protocols for lesson observations as outlined in Motion 23 and its accompanying amendments. These should be fully consulted upon by union representatives and staff.

In Coventry we have spent this year attempting to negotiate a set of protocols and good practice for classroom observations with the Local Authority. However the NAHT refusal to negotiate has completely scuppered this. It’s now going to come down to, as was the case with TLRs, each school having their own policy and procedures.

Just like TLRs, it will depend on the strength of mood and support they get in these schools to fight against examples of discrimination and unfairness. Through the union’s workload dispute, members in individual schools can be balloted against breaches of observation protocols. We will need to ensure that this happens and that strike action is supported where necessary.

We should not have been put in this position. National strike action is essential in the fight against Performance Related Pay and Workload - which these classroom observations are an integral part of. It should never have been abandoned.