Tuesday 09 Oct 2007 @ 10:31
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
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Teachers devoting more time to pupils thanks to reforms
Teachers have more time to devote to pupils thanks to reforms designed to reduce paperwork and refocus their workload, inspectors have found.
A report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) reveals that more than three quarters of teachers interviewed believed they have greater control over their work and more time to plan lessons, mark books and collaborate with colleagues thanks to a ”revolutionary shift’’ in school working practices.
The new report, Reforming and developing the school workforce, looks at the impact of the agreement struck between the Government, employers and professional associations.
The deal Raising Standards and tackling workload: a national agreement was designed to reduce teachers’ workloads and improve standards over a period of four years using methods such as transferring administrative tasks to support staff.
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, said:
“There has been an important change in the school workforce culture as increasingly highly skilled people from fields other than teaching have taken on responsible and challenging roles in supporting teaching and assessment, and in some aspects of school management.”
Teachers felt they had greater control over their work, had time to plan collaboratively, develop resources, keep up with assessment and liaise with colleagues, improving their lessons as a result.
Most schools believed strongly that standards were rising as a result of the reforms, however as most of the schools did not monitor and evaluate the impact on pupils’ learning, they had little firm evidence to show whether standards were rising as a result.
Today’s report found that headteachers and senior managers continue to carry a heavy workload. But increasingly they are supported by well qualified and experienced managers, allowing them to devote more time to strategic leadership and management.
Pupils are benefiting from increased support from this wider workforce. Deploying adults with different skills is allowing schools to improve the care and guidance for vulnerable pupils and those at risk of exclusion. The reforms were helping to extend and enhance the curriculum in nearly three quarters of the 99 schools visited.
But inspectors found that the full potential of reforms to raise achievement and standards was not always realised. In most schools it was rare to find professional development fully linked to school self-evaluation and improvement planning. And although training was available, it was often of mixed quality and was not always matched appropriately to the needs of individuals or schools
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, added:
“There have been clear benefits for many schools. The challenge now is to ensure that this increasingly diverse workforce has the relevant on-going training and professional development so that the potential for raising achievement and standards can be fully realised.”
Inspectors reported that too little attention was paid to linking workforce reform to wider school improvement initiatives or guidance given on prioritising national agendas. Most schools interpreted the aims of reducing teachers’ workloads, improving a work/life balance and extending the roles of support staff as outcomes in themselves, rather than as the means to improve the quality of education and raise standards.
Today’s report makes a number of recommendations to schools including that they monitor and evaluate the effects of workforce reform and provide relevant induction, training, performance management and professional development for the wider workforce.
The report recommends that the Department for Children, Schools and Families ensures that schools understand that the desired outcome of workforce reform is school improvement and in particular raised standards. It also recommends that the Training and Development Agency for Schools works with schools and local authorities to help schools manage the performance and career development of members of the wider workforce.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The report, Reforming and developing the school workforce, is available on the Ofsted website, www.ofsted.gov.uk, today.
2. The term wider workforce is used to describe any person, other than a qualified teacher, who works in or with a school.
3. From 1 April 2007 a new single inspectorate for children and learners came into being. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has the responsibility for the inspection of adult learning and training – work formerly undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate; the regulation and inspection of children’s social care – work formerly undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – work formerly undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration; and the existing regulatory and inspection activities of Ofsted.
A report by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) reveals that more than three quarters of teachers interviewed believed they have greater control over their work and more time to plan lessons, mark books and collaborate with colleagues thanks to a ”revolutionary shift’’ in school working practices.
The new report, Reforming and developing the school workforce, looks at the impact of the agreement struck between the Government, employers and professional associations.
The deal Raising Standards and tackling workload: a national agreement was designed to reduce teachers’ workloads and improve standards over a period of four years using methods such as transferring administrative tasks to support staff.
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, said:
“There has been an important change in the school workforce culture as increasingly highly skilled people from fields other than teaching have taken on responsible and challenging roles in supporting teaching and assessment, and in some aspects of school management.”
Teachers felt they had greater control over their work, had time to plan collaboratively, develop resources, keep up with assessment and liaise with colleagues, improving their lessons as a result.
Most schools believed strongly that standards were rising as a result of the reforms, however as most of the schools did not monitor and evaluate the impact on pupils’ learning, they had little firm evidence to show whether standards were rising as a result.
Today’s report found that headteachers and senior managers continue to carry a heavy workload. But increasingly they are supported by well qualified and experienced managers, allowing them to devote more time to strategic leadership and management.
Pupils are benefiting from increased support from this wider workforce. Deploying adults with different skills is allowing schools to improve the care and guidance for vulnerable pupils and those at risk of exclusion. The reforms were helping to extend and enhance the curriculum in nearly three quarters of the 99 schools visited.
But inspectors found that the full potential of reforms to raise achievement and standards was not always realised. In most schools it was rare to find professional development fully linked to school self-evaluation and improvement planning. And although training was available, it was often of mixed quality and was not always matched appropriately to the needs of individuals or schools
Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, added:
“There have been clear benefits for many schools. The challenge now is to ensure that this increasingly diverse workforce has the relevant on-going training and professional development so that the potential for raising achievement and standards can be fully realised.”
Inspectors reported that too little attention was paid to linking workforce reform to wider school improvement initiatives or guidance given on prioritising national agendas. Most schools interpreted the aims of reducing teachers’ workloads, improving a work/life balance and extending the roles of support staff as outcomes in themselves, rather than as the means to improve the quality of education and raise standards.
Today’s report makes a number of recommendations to schools including that they monitor and evaluate the effects of workforce reform and provide relevant induction, training, performance management and professional development for the wider workforce.
The report recommends that the Department for Children, Schools and Families ensures that schools understand that the desired outcome of workforce reform is school improvement and in particular raised standards. It also recommends that the Training and Development Agency for Schools works with schools and local authorities to help schools manage the performance and career development of members of the wider workforce.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The report, Reforming and developing the school workforce, is available on the Ofsted website, www.ofsted.gov.uk, today.
2. The term wider workforce is used to describe any person, other than a qualified teacher, who works in or with a school.
3. From 1 April 2007 a new single inspectorate for children and learners came into being. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has the responsibility for the inspection of adult learning and training – work formerly undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate; the regulation and inspection of children’s social care – work formerly undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – work formerly undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Court Administration; and the existing regulatory and inspection activities of Ofsted.
