“A culture that is driven by policies, strategies and documentation” – perhaps this describes a troubled prison or a lack-lustre government department? Not quite. Dismally, this is actually how Ofsted describe what they found in some FE and Skills sector providers in their new report. It put me in mind of my own dreary experience as a ‘professional learner’ when enduring college ‘safeguarding training’. This felt like a mechanistic, spiritless approach which Ofsted would have condemned. Banished into dispassionate isolation, I worked through endless slides and multiple choice questions on a computer screen - something we would never have done to our students; a ‘tick box’ approach, or as Jean Kelly at IfL once put it, a ‘sheep dip’ for CPD. Whilst it might have been an efficient way to evidence that all staff had been ‘trained’, there was little opportunity for me to relate the content to my everyday practice; exactly the kind of failing Ofsted highlight. If this is the kind of treatment we are willing to mete out to our colleagues, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised when they emulate this in their own classrooms.
In contrast, I recently met a Teach First Early Years teacher and was struck by how he had applied safeguarding to his classroom, making it an integral part of his day - checking that each child in his care was safe and had eaten breakfast was the usual start to his morning. These young children came to trust this passionate teacher and worked hard for him, with the result that those who had started not being able to form letter sounds or hold a pen were writing sentences at the end of their reception year.
The CPD we subject staff to in colleges and training providers is ‘high level vocational training’ so shouldn’t it be the kind of high quality, responsive, education we would provide other vocational trainees? Not only do our colleagues deserve this respect, we need the training to be effective and to model an approach we hope those colleagues can emulate. Happily, the good FE and skills providers offer CPD which can and does help teachers to consider their practice at classroom level in real situations (see some examples of that here in CUREE’s lab site reports) But are providers sometimes tempted to run one-off events devoid of the excitement of learning, in order to satisfy external demands? I fear so.
Opportunities for teachers to develop and discuss strategies for specific learners in their classrooms can help to build a culture around learning in FE and Skills organisations rather than simple adherence to procedures. The welcome focus on practitioner research in the new professional standards also puts classroom practice at the heart of professional learning in the sector. But just as Dr Who needs a time machine and a dutiful assistant to escape the ever-terrifying array of aliens, teachers will need structured support and the opportunity to collaborate with each other so that they can do this effectively across the sector, and counter Ofsted’s harsh (but fair?) accusation.
In their report, Ofsted also encourage teachers “to be innovative and creative and to try different approaches and take risks”. And here’s the advert - CUREE’s Route Maps are already providing colleges with scaffolding for teachers to try out evidence-informed approaches in teaching, learning and assessment, with teacher friendly tools to use with specific groups of learners – no red tape required, just a good understanding of different students’ needs in the classroom. Contact me if you’d like to know more – or talk to me at the JISC London event which takes place in the afternoon of 14th November.
Anne Groll
Senior Research Informed Practice Manager
1st October 2014