Diary of an NQT The world of moderation


EVERYTHING IN moderation, even moderation itself. In fact, especially moderation. This week has been my first taste


of moderating coursework. I thought dragging the class kicking and screaming through the coursework itself was hard enough, surely agreeing on the marks will be a walk in the park. If only. All the early signs were good.


First we got taken off timetable, so it felt like a day off. Then we managed to find a little meeting room where we could hide from the inevitable stream of children that constantly hunt you down and require arbitrary things, like help and information. So this is what teaching would


be like without students. Easy. We had a coffee machine and even half a bottle of orange squash. This was luxury, can we moderate every day? However, little did I know I had


entered a competitive minefield. Each teacher defending their marking and their students like a rabid dog. Clasping after every valuable mark which may be lost through interpretation of the golden mark scheme – a small box of words with more possible interpretations than the book of Genesis (if we don’t know what “sustained analytical synthesis” means, how on earth are the kids expected to?). I wasn’t really prepared for the intellectual stand-


offs and tentative criticisms, albeit constructive, of my marking. As it was my first attempt I had to know my place and I largely respected the judgement of the rest of my department, that is not to say I didn’t fight my corner when I thought I was right – I am me after all. It soon became clear how beneficial it was to realise that we were all marking along the same


lines and knew the difference between, for example, a good and a very good answer. Actually, one positive from moderation is that I genuinely feel a little closer to my department. People don’t always appreciate how lonely a job teaching can be. As an NQT, you very rarely spend a prolonged amount of time with adults. Having a day to discuss (and at times fiercely debate) ideas can only improve your teaching as both an individual and a department. I have heard arguments for and against controlled assessment,


some feel it is the height of spoon- feeding, others that it allows students to get a more accurate reflection of their ability away from the horror of exams. As a newbie I am undecided but I must say I enjoyed the instant gratification. It was an enjoyable chance to see the tangible influence of your teaching on the students’ work, as well as to compare styles and show how different means can often result in similar ends. Apart from January exams, this was my first set of proper results and they were all significantly


above their expected grades. This job can feel like sailing in the dark at times, you essentially drive 30 kids towards a final exam and only once it is all over do you know if you are doing your job


properly. If I have had one constant fear this year it is the question of whether the students are actually learning. I know they aren’t throwing chairs. I get the odd hint of enjoyment and enthusiasm from them, but am I doing what I am meant to be doing – educating? My coursework results say yes.


• Tomas Duckling is a history NQT at Queens’ School in Hertfordshire. He returns next week.


Are we surrogate parents? Once a teacher…


“SCHOOLS FORCED to act as surrogate parents,” screamed the headline. It certainly grabbed my attention. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s chief inspector,


stated that schools spend significant time instilling basic values because children are not taught these at home. Schools, particularly in poor areas, had no option but to be surrogate parents so that children can achieve and compensate for wider family and community failings. It is undoubtedly the case,


compared to 50 years ago, that there are more working mothers. Consequently, public expectations of schools have changed. Kids spend less time at home and more in school. To that limited extent teachers become surrogate parents. More significantly, perhaps, with


the traditional nuclear family’s gradual weakening, a considerable minority of young people live chaotic lifes, bereft of care, let alone ethical guidance. If that is what was meant by schools setting standards where few existed at home, fine. Part of the role of schools,


certainly, is to model courtesy and consideration and offer young people moral leadership but that has always been the case. My former school took enormous pride in the compliments our youngsters were paid by visitors for their courtesy and helpfulness. We achieved that by prioritising it and by staff modelling it, but schools have done that from time immemorial. What is far more questionable is the assertion


that it is in poor areas that schools must act as surrogate parents. The clear implication is that the poor are feckless, inadequate parents. Such a generalisation entirely avoids the fact that many of the parents who have least time for their children, who require schools (or sports clubs or dance classes or scouts or whatever) to act as surrogate parents are as likely to be the career-driven, time-pressured, middle-classes as the “feckless poor”. And how does Sir Michael judge those affluent families which send their children to boarding school? By his yardstick, their abdication of parental responsibilities must be at the very worst end of the scale. Where Sir Michael almost hit nails on heads


however, is his identification of the wider social malaise, a culture emphasising “celebrity and instant


gratification”, impacting directly on young people. He said: “Our youngsters are too often exposed to double standards, where bad behaviour and violence are publicly condemned but endlessly available as entertainment.” We live indeed in a bread-and-circuses culture.


Politicians make fools of themselves on Big Brother. Celebrities (of very minor status) demean themselves and each other in the jungle. Newspapers entertain readers and reinforce their self- righteousness with prurient headlines and titillating stories of celebrity misdemeanours. We also live in a nakedly selfish


world. The relentless pursuit of the quick (and big) buck undermines the global economy, but the bankers who created the chaos will walk out if bonuses are removed. Journalists have a murdered teenager’s mobile hacked to find a newspaper-selling story. National leaders idealise selfishness and


rampant individualism because “there is no such a thing as society”. Leaders of the political party once committed to equality are “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”. Meals with (and influence over) leaders of government are sold for party funds. Schools are indeed challenging places where ethical issues should top the agenda and where philistinism, greed and dishonesty must always be


challenged. Never has that been more obviously so. Never has that challenge been more difficult to meet. The rich and the powerful perpetrate and profit from immorality. It


is sloppy thinking, deliberate blindness or unctuous self-righteousness to saddle the families of the poor with responsibility for


such society-wide moral deficits. The poor are the victims of contemporary society’s ethical emptiness, not its creators. Scotland’s inspectors may deserve some criticism


but Sir Michael’s prejudice makes me pleased we don’t have Ofsted north of the Tweed.


• Alex Wood has been a teacher for 38 years. Prior to his recent retirement he was headteacher of Wester Hailes Education Centre in Edinburgh. He is currently an associate with the Scottish Centre for Studies in School Administration at Edinburgh University. He returns in two weeks.


Emma Lee- Potter looks at how some schools are preparing to


mark the London Olympic Games this summer


W


ith London 2012 just three months away, schools across the UK are throwing themselves into an exciting range of activities to celebrate the Olympic Games.


From houses named after famous athletes to


walking to school campaigns, they are all determined to do their bit to make the 2012 Olympics an event that pupils and teachers will remember for the rest of their lives. Thousands of schools and colleges have signed


up to take part in Get Set, the official London 2012 education programme. As well as giving them the opportunity to showcase


work related to the Olympic and ParalympicGames, the Get Set initiative also sets out to enhance youngsters’ learning through sport, culture and education and to involve as many children as possible in the excitement of London 2012. Research carried out to assess the impact Get


Set has had on schools has been overwhelmingly positive. Two-thirds of secondary teachers reckoned the initiative had enriched teaching and learning, 57 per cent said it had improved engagement in learning and 45 per cent believed it had had a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour. One 16-year-old girl told researchers she had


“benefited greatly and broadened my knowledge on the activities, skills and important values and what it means to be a good leader, communicator and a valued member of the team”. Meanwhile, a 12-year old-pupil said: “I used to mess about in class when it was boring. But I think about my behaviour more now.” Belfast Boys Model School has not only joined


the Get Set programme but has used London 2012 to put the Olympic and Paralympic values of respect, excellence, friendship, courage, determination, inspiration and equality at the heart of the curriculum. As a result, the school now holds monthly


assemblies for each class to raise awareness of these principles and presents certificates to pupils who have best demonstrated them. Other innovations include a new award system, comprising gold, silver and bronze badges, a broader range of sports on offer, including rowing, judo, Tour de France cycling and trampolining, and the introduction of new lunchtime sports sessions. Similarly, Ridgeway High School in the Wirral


has also used the Olympic and Paralympic values to provide inspiration for their assemblies. As assistant headteacher Liz Williams explained: “It puts these


8


London calling: Get Set students are among the firs winning a Get Set Network school of the month aw


SecEd • April 19 2012


values under an umbrella that students recognise, understand and find user-friendly.” With the Olympic Stadium just four miles down the


road, Leytonstone Business and Enterprise Specialist School in east London has come up with a plethora of 2012-inspired projects. As well as designing badges for the 200 Olympic teams taking part in the Games, the school has also introduced “pledge cards”, where students write down the aims they want to achieve (including something linked to the Olympic values) during the year. The Get Set programme has organised a plethora of


events in the run-up to theGames and the last UK-wide initiative for schools before the Olympics begin will be London 2012 World Sport Day, which takes place on June 25. Schools all over the country will host their own


opening ceremonies, organise “global showcases” to highlight sports, languages, food, music and dance from around the world and create colourful flags of the teams they will be supporting. At Richard Hale School in Hertford, pupils will be


hosting an event called the Top Sportsability Festival on World Sport Day – for around 100 youngsters from a variety of local special schools. The event, to be held at Wodson Park Sports Centre in Ware, is being planned, led and run by a group of year 13 Level 3 sports leaders at Richard Hale, who will be working with year 10 sports leaders from two special schools and some year 7s from local mainstream schools to make the day a success.


OLYMPICS The countdow


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