Author: theprimaryhead

#eddies14

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My nominations for the 2014 edublog awards are in…sorry for the snubs.

Best individual blog – http://johntomsett.com/

A difficult one. How do you choose the best individual blog when there are so many brilliant ones out there? I decided to select a blog that, although I may not read every post, when I do, it always resonates. @johntomsett’s ‘This much I know…’ series of blogs are often personal and always incredibly thought provoking. I met him once and was struck by his calmness, humility, quiet authority and understated but powerful presence. When he talks, you feel like you are listening to the wisest man in the room: Atticus Finch, Bagheera…even Yoda ain’t got nothing on John. In short, he is the kind of Head I most aspire to be. Be inspired at http://johntomsett.com/

Best new blog – http://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/

A controversial choice, but then, that seems to be the point of L’enfant terrible or ‘Quirky Teacher’ as he likes to be known. A newly qualified teacher with plenty to say. Strip away the acerbic style and occasional tone that suggests he actually hates children and there is often a grain of sense in the posts. At the very least, the blog represents the thoughts of a fresh professional who isn’t afraid to show us his perspective. And, for that, the posts are often interesting and certainly spark debate – and anyone who can fill up my timeline for an entire weekend through a single blog post deserves some recognition. I genuinely look forward to seeing how this blog develops over time. Check it out at http://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/

Best teacher blog – http://emmaannhardy.wordpress.com/

If it’s honesty, passion and integrity you’re after, then visit @emmaannhardy’s blog. An individual as dedicated to teaching as she is to the Labour party, Emma represents all that is good about our hard-working profession. Her blog ranges from tales from the chalkboard to the political campaign trail and she always manages to remain optimistic about the future. Comrades, embrace the truth at http://emmaannhardy.wordpress.com/

Best administrator blog – http://educationechochamber.wordpress.com/

If you’re bored of a Sunday and want to read around a million blogs, you could do worse than to click on http://educationechochamber.wordpress.com/ . The Echo Chamber, compiled by Twitter’s very own @oldandrewuk (I think?), it must be the most comprehensive and exhaustive list of education blogs the world has ever seen.

Most influential blog post of the year – http://michaelt1979.wordpress.com/

If Michael Tidd doesn’t win this award then the world has gone MAD and I will literally be furious. Michael’s relentless dedication to supporting each and every one of us with the new National Curriculum is nothing short of incredible. It speaks volumes that Michael is the only blogger who I have heard referenced by people in the ‘real world’ – I don’t think it gets much bigger than that! I know of so many schools who have benefitted from his resources, to the extent that not only should he win this award, and get a knighthood, but also, get a personal name-check in every ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report for the next five years. Struggling with the new NC? Get up to speed at http://michaelt1979.wordpress.com/.

Best individual tweeter – @tstarkey1212

If I was only allowed to follow one person on Twitter then I would quite possibly plump for @tstarkey1212. Not for his insights into education (sorry Thomas), but because he’s irritatingly funny. I like to imagine that his ‘tweet’ button has been specially modified so that when each zinger fires out into the twittershpere a little drum kit gives off a ‘ba-dum-tsssss’ noise – he’s that good folks and he’s here all week. I mean the man even has a twitter festival named after him: Starkeyfest. It just goes to show that if you build it, they will come. Go follow. (Oh and he does have many insightful thoughts on education too-honest)

Best twitter hashtag or chat – #SLTchat

I may not join in every Sunday but, like The Archers, I feel safer knowing that #SLTchat exists. The format hasn’t changed but it has evolved brilliantly, especially with the new ‘scenario’ option. Despite being apparently aimed at ‘SLT’ it is open to all, and the range of comments, ideas and opinions often cannot fail to make even the most talented and experienced of us (ha ha!) think.

Best open PD / unconference / webinar series – SLTCamp

I’ve never been but I just love the concept and down-to-earth-good-natured-brilliance of SLTCamp. Pioneered by Sarah Findlater and Stephen Lockyer, this seems to be a perfect form of CPD for educators. Kicking back against the corporate gubbins of a national conference, this is the real deal.

Best educational use of a social network – http://notveryjolley.wordpress.com/

Not sure if this is the right category but I had to get @ajjolley’s blog in here somehow. If Universal Free School Meals represent the worst use of political showboating, under the pretence of good intentions, backed by poor planning and underfunding, then Andy’s blog is the best educational use of a social network for attacking the flaws in a huge educational issue like a big dog with a juicy bone. Like a modern day, one man Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Andy has investigated UFSM to within an inch of its political life, and he shows no sign of stopping. Read everything you will ever need to know about one of the biggest educational changes of our time at http://notveryjolley.wordpress.com/

Lifetime achievement – http://heymisssmith.blogspot.co.uk

For this award I would like to nominate @heymisssmith’s splog: http://heymisssmith.blogspot.co.uk  I know she will most likely consider this some kind of mean-spirited and cruel joke about her age but I assure you Miss, my intentions are genuine. Her unending abundance for writing short, sharp, pithy posts never fails to entertain me and make me wish I blogged more. And, for the record, I don’t even know how old she is.

My Made Up Categories They won’t win an award apart from holding a special place in my heart.

Best Artist – https://friendlyneighbourhoodteacher.wordpress.com/

@GazNeedle’s blog literally is like reading a comic from your friendly neighbourhood teacher. If Twitter and the plethora of blogs out there can, at times, be cynical and slightly less acidic than a massive lemon covered in battery innards, Gaz’s blog is the complete opposite. His friendly and good natured blogs remind you of why the internet was invented in the first place. He often shares his ideas and artwork with others and I particularly loved his YouTube video,that he created for a friend, about drawing cartoons. Plus, he once drew an amazing picture to accompany a post I wrote. The man can do no wrong. Feel the love, learn how to draw and follow https://friendlyneighbourhoodteacher.wordpress.com/.

One to watch – http://oldprimaryhead.com/

@primaryhead1 (not not NOT to be confused with me @theprimaryhead) is a personal friend of mine, but that is not the reason why I have nominated him in a category that doesn’t actually exist. No, the reason for this nomination is because his blog may just about to start being interesting. Having left the city for a life in the country – swapping roads for country lanes, fast cars for lumbering tractors, and bustling bistros for a single pub that actually sells pork knuckles as a snack and thinks red wine is basically cider and black in a poncy glass- @primaryhead1 has just taken over a new school. It is a school that is as far away from any of his previous experiences as you can get and has taken him right out of his comfort zone – quite a noble challenge for an outstanding citywide Head and a decision that shouldn’t be dismissed out of turn. Therefore, once the dust has settled, I think we could all be in for a treat as he begins to chart his new journey. Follow it now and wait for the updates at http://oldprimaryhead.com/.

It’s in the books stupid!

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All this life ‘beyond levels’ stuff is very interesting. (I say that as someone who counts the number of sleeps before the RaiseOnline release date so you’ve been warned.) But I mean isn’t it though? Having to completely revolutionise the way you assess pupils whilst simultaneously getting to grips with a new national curriculum? If not interesting, it is, at the very least, a new challenge in education.

It is not just the practicalities that are interesting (watching each teacher’s brain melt inside their skull as they try not to peek at their APP statements whilst assessing a piece of writing); the discussions it has brought about are equally riveting.

There are the online conversations: fierce battles between those that loved levels, those that hated levels, those that have dreamt for the day when a 2B became as meaningless as it was interpretable, those that vowed to leave education if levels became defunct (as if it was in some way similar to a 95 pence supertax law), those that cynically denounced any other assessment system as ‘well it’s just levels in sheep’s clothing isn’t it’, and those that relished the thought of a convolutedly simplistic system that would come to define their appraisal prospects.

Then there are the fake real-life conversations – mainly conducted by sales reps offering a simple ‘Like levels but definitely not levels’ sales pitch, promising that all these systems will guarantee smoother progress trajectory patterns in each and every year group and, as long as you book out all five of your insets for their training, won’t cause your teachers any grief at all.

There are then the ‘real’ real-life conversations between schools:

Outstanding school not due to be inspected for another ten years: So what are you doing?

RI school about to be inspected: Well, we’ve had to get the ball rolling in case the big O rock up and want to talk life beyond levels, so we’ve launched a new system starting in every year group based on awarding pupils points according to a set of predetermined threshold criteria in every subject. Eight times a year these points are collected, averaged out and spread over an evaluation matrix that shows you exactly where the child was three months ago. However, we are still using levels as a back-up in Years 2 and 6 (obviously) but also in Year 1, 3 and 5. What are you doing?

Outstanding school not due to be inspected for another ten years: Oh we’re just sticking with levels. But do let me know how that system works out won’t you.

And don’t get me started about the conversations between staff members. Young teachers who only know levels and haven’t got the experience or confidence to look at a piece of work and go ‘Yeah, that looks about right for a seven year old’. Old teachers who have only ever used levels and can be seen wandering the school corridors clutching a crumpled and faded A3 APP spreadsheet like a security blanket. Ancient teachers who have only just got used to using levels since the days of educational freedom (which also happened to be the days of low standards, no planning, caning, and the occasional employment of non CRB’d paedophiles). Get a load of those teachers talking and the panic sets in faster than the reversal of achievement after the summer holidays.

As far as I can see the panic is caused for mainly two reasons:

  1. How will we know any new system works?
  2. What if I’m the only one it doesn’t work for?

To answer these questions we have to seriously ask ourselves what exactly are we looking for? Now, before you accuse me of coming over all Zen, let me explain. A large part of the conversations I have had with lots of people about life beyond levels is about children making progress. ‘I mean’, I hear the odd teacher cry, ‘If I don’t understand this crazy new system or use the system correctly, my children won’t make progress.’ WRONG. If you use the system incorrectly it will appear on paper that they have not made progress. In reality, they will have made exactly how much or how little progress your teaching has allowed. Progress is not determined by data – data does not even reflect actual progress. All data does is present a pattern of apparent progress, based on one individual’s interpretation of the progress measures being applied.

That is what is so gloriously silly about life beyond levels. It’s a sham. It’s not even the emperor’s new clothes. In the tale of ‘life beyond levels’ the emperor was butt naked from day one. Nobody really knew what a 2B was in writing – not to the extent that their judgement would chime exactly with every other practising teacher in the land. Nobody agreed with every single level judgement that came back from the SATS marker. No child ever graduated from one level to the next because of the inclusion of a single level descriptor. It’s all a nonsense.

Children make confusing, conflicting, incremental steps of progress all the time because, well, because they’re children: complicated little sods whose gradual rates of achievement occur like stages of evolution. You often can’t pin down exactly when it happens but, over time, it just does…providing?

That’s just it isn’t it? Progress happens providing the teaching is good and I don’t gauge that from data. I get it from monitoring the work of teachers: the planning, the teaching, the marking, the next steps. In short: It’s in the books stupid. Don’t worry about the system – that will sort itself out and settle itself down and be as accurate and frustrating as all ‘one size fits all’ systems have ever been. Yes, I’ll always check to see if the data patterns match up with what I see in the books and, when they don’t, I will investigate and support. The data may trigger an increased interest in your practice, but it won’t be the damning evidence that turns me into judge, jury and executioner. So, don’t panic, keep meeting the needs of your pupils, and the representation of your hard work through the ones and zeros of your data will look after itself.

Now get to bed – only 325 sleeps until the last ever RaiseOnline.

The subtle art of giving praise

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I can still remember, as a young NQT, having the school’s celebration book presented to me at 2:00pm on a Friday afternoon, an hour before the weekly celebration assembly was due to begin. I can remember staring at it blankly whilst the direct order to nominate a child was being barked in my ear by a slightly harassed secretary who was running out of time to print the certificates. I remember standing there and thinking, trying to pluck a child’s name out of thin air and then trying to conjure up some reason as to why they had got it. I would frustratingly flick back through the pages to see who I had already picked, as I cursed the boy who I would have nominated had they not flushed someone’s homework down the toilet half an hour earlier. Finally, I would scribble the name of some child, and make up some flaccid justification to explain their nomination – something that would normally result in them looking more surprised than their peers when their name got called out by the Head.

And there I would sit, shifting uncomfortably in my chair, as the celebration assembly played out – the longest of all the assemblies – and curse the school for making us all endure this weekly façade of praise.

Yes, I remember that all too well. Luckily, I also remember that I was a highly inexperienced and disorganised moob of an NQT who didn’t quite get the point of celebration at all.

As a Head, I thoroughly enjoy celebration assemblies, but I know that is because the culture of praise within my school is solid – providing those pesky teachers make sure that they give themselves enough time to consider their nominations seriously. I won’t bore you with my over-rehearsed Ofsted spiel, but if you think giving praise is about:

  • rewarding achievement
  • celebrating hard graft
  • recognising children who have done something that was once, for them, unthinkable
  • taking the time to praise ‘bigger picture’ achievements
  • noticing a child’s personal development

then I recommend that when I advertise for a teacher you apply, because we’d get on just fine.

It is of course imperative that the celebration is meaningful. Yes, be mindful that you consider all children during your nomination process, and be grown up enough to recognise all levels of achievement. Please remember that this assembly is one tiny part of the teaching and learning or behaviour policy – I expect you to be spotting achievements all the time and giving them due recognition. Please don’t feel the need to put the class on a rota so that everyone gets a celebration certificate – use your judgement. Oh, and if there are some children who can’t cope when others get praised, please know that I expect you to deal with that…I don’t tolerate booing or selfish expectations, so some one-to-one conversations or circle times may be appropriate.

Giving praise must not be a blanket experience that each child dutifully receives. It is a nuanced process and only the most Subtle-ist of subtle teachers will get it right. You must give praise effectively so it does what it is intended to do: reward, motivate and teach everyone that perseverance is one of the most key elements to success.

So I no longer view whole school systems of praise as pointless, although, when I’m presented with all the certificates (returned because I hadn’t found time to sign them all), I do roll my eyes and think why am I still so disorganised? Why, at times, do I still come across as an inexperienced moob? And most importantly, when is Ofsted going to give me my certificate?