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Estyn offers snapshot of standards in Wales


by Greg Lewis


Four out of 10 Welsh secondary schools will need extra support and monitoring to ensure acceptable standards, according to the schools’ inspectorate. In her second annual report as


head of Estyn, Ann Keane looked at 31 secondary schools. Performance was good or better


in 65 per cent and was excellent in 13 per cent. Prospects for improvement were


good or better in 84 per cent of secondary schools inspected and excellent in 23 per cent.


Sir Michael wants an end to pay rises for all


Only the most committed teach- ers should be given pay rises, the chief inspector of Ofsted has said. Sir Michael Wilshaw believes


that “good” teachers are “irri- tated” when some school staff who do not go the extra mile are rewarded. He said that headteach- ers and governors should con- centrate more on performance management. Speaking at a Royal Society of


Arts (RSA) event last week, Sir Michael said around 92 per cent of school teachers can get a £5,000 pay increase if they become a head of year or a head of department. He said this was not right and sug- gested that 40 per cent of lessons are “less than good”. Sir Michael said: “Teaching is


a noble profession. The thing that irritates good teachers, people who work hard and go the extra mile, is seeing the people that don’t do that being rewarded. Headteachers and governors should worry about performance management more than they have been doing. “I know from my own experi-


ence that heads need to perform- ance manage their staff properly. This means only promoting and increasing the pay of those who are committed, teach well and show the desire and capacity to improve. “It means not rewarding eve-


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ryone indiscriminately. I want Ofsted to focus more sharply on how well heads are doing this.” Russell Hobby, general secre-


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ISSN 1479-7704


tary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told SecEd: “People deserve clear feedback on how they are doing, they deserve to have their achieve- ments celebrated and they do become demoralised when under- performance is tolerated.” The event was held to dis-


cuss a report that the RSA pub- lished in December. Entitled (Un)Satsfactory? Enhancing Life Chances by Improving “Satisfactory Schools”, the docu- ment paved the way for Ofsted pro- posals to scrap the “satisfactory” category and replace it with a grad- ing of “requires improvement”. For more information, visit


www.thersa.org


Press gang: The Paralympic Post team at the Vancouver 2010 winter Games, while two reporters meet Oscar Pistorius, known as the Bladerunner, at Beijing 2008


Chance to join Paralympic Post


The chance to report on the Paralympic Games 2012 and interview key people including Olympics chief Lord Sebastian Coe is up for grabs for 10 lucky UK students. The Paralympic Post is a news-


paper supplement which is to be created by student reporters from both Germany and the UK during the Parlympic Games in London later this year. The project is being supported


by SecEd and NASUWT among others and the hunt is now on for


10 budding UK sports journalists to join the reporting team. The supplement will appear in


the German national press as well as The Guardian and SecEd. In the run up to the Games,


which take place in August and September, the young reporters will receive professional coach- ing on their journalist skills, including from SecEd editor Pete Henshaw. The newspaper will be entirely


produced by the students who will use the same media suites and ath-


lete areas as the international and UK media. The UK students will be select-


ed following submissions to the NASUWT in the form of an article or report and an explanation of why they want to work on the paper. It is open to 16 to 19-year- olds only. The newspaper will be writ-


ten in the host country’s language, although other European languages will also be used. Once the young journalists are chosen they will attend a training workshop in late


Call for end to ‘conveyor belt’ parent evenings


Teachers and parents need to have longer and more regular meetings in which they discuss a child’s overall progression, not just exam scores. Professor Carol Vincent says


that currently meetings during events like parents’ evenings can be too hurried with parents made to feel like they are on a conveyor belt. Prof Vincent, who is a professor


of education at London University’s Institute of Education (IoE), said that schools must encourage views and questions from parents. Speaking in her inaugural lec-


ture at the IoE, Prof Vincent said: “(Currently) meetings are hurried, often held in public settings, and often involve, especially in sec-


2


ondary schools, a great deal of queueing and a sense of being on a conveyor belt for both parents and teachers. Also, some may feel that there is an issue concerning the nature and tone of what is deemed legitimate for discussion in the public arena. “So I am suggesting regular,


longer and more discursive meet- ings between parents and teachers, ones that are not merely a report of the child’s most recent test results, but one that fully position the child within the home and within the classroom, as a peer, a pupil and a learner.” Prof Vincent, a former primary school teacher, has previously con-


ducted research into the relationship between families and the education system. Elsewhere, Prof Vincent said


parent forums can be a “vital mode of communication” between schools and parents, especially on topics such as homework, uniform, behaviour policies, and school meals. However, she warned that the


forums in some places have attract- ed the more confident and knowl- edgeable parents and some have agendas set by senior managers and “middle class” parents. Prof Vincent said the aim should instead be for all parents and teachers to become involved.


May at the NASUWT headquarters in Birmingham. The Paralympic Post project


has taken place at previous Games, including in Beijing in 2008 and Vancouver in 2010. Lord Coe said: “The partaking


of students from all over Europe in the editorial team to report on the competitions in London is a delight- ful idea that helps to further promote the Paralympic spirit in Europe.” For more information and


to enter the competition, visit www.nasuwt.org.uk/paralympicpost


But 42 per cent of secondary


schools required follow-up activ- ity. One school needs significant improvement, six require an Estyn monitoring visit, and another six need local authority monitoring. Standards were found to be


good or better in about three-fifths of secondary schools inspected. They were excellent in about one in eight schools. The report contains a warning


that “40 per cent of pupils enter secondary schools with a reading age that is more than six months below their actual age”. “This is unacceptable,” wrote Ms Keane, Wales’ chief inspector


of schools. “Teachers and managers need to plan lessons more effec- tively to develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills in all subjects.” Teaching was good or better


in about two-thirds of schools assessed. Where teaching was no better than adequate there was “too much variation in teaching meth- ods and approaches” and teachers provided “too little challenge and do not match work to pupils’ needs and abilities”. Leadership was good or better


in more than four-fifths of schools. In one in six schools, it was excel- lent. The report noted: “In the few schools where leadership is only


adequate, not all staff understand their roles well enough and manag- ers do not tackle underperformance rigorously.” Ms Keane told SecEd:


“Performance in two-thirds of sec- ondary schools we inspected was mainly good and there is some sector-leading practice in a propor- tion of schools. “About one in eight second-


ary schools are excellent – in these schools, the attainment gap between girls and boys is smaller than in most schools and pupils make good progress in their les- sons, using literacy and numeracy skills effectively.


“We will be undertaking Estyn


follow-up visits in around a quarter of schools and a further fifth will be monitored by local authorities.” She added: “Levels of litera-


cy still remain a major concern. Too many pupils enter secondary school with reading ages signifi- cantly below their actual age and pupils’ writing skills are not well developed. “In addition, standards of


teaching are too variable in many secondary schools. Even where a school is judged ‘good’ overall, there is often a minority of lessons where the quality of teaching is poor.”


Meeting plea: Professor of Education, Carol Vincent


SecEd • February 9 2012


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