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Observation of Teaching Training and Learning - 2012 CIF

Overview

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Aligning OTL Practice to 2012 CIF Inspection Standards – FE & Skills

The 2012 Inspection regime has made the quality of teaching, training, assessment and learning a core principle.  More time will be devoted to observations during inspection, with greater involvement of Provider staff both in joint observations and moderating judgements.  There will be more emphasis on themes such as punctuality, behaviour, assessment, IAG, learning support, resources, independent learning, directed self-study, attendance and target-setting.  Providers will need to demonstrate that they have deployed effective teaching strategies to ensure all learners have every opportunity to achieve their full potential.

This has significant implications for education providers, their management and their observation teams.

The “Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2010/11” highlights the continued failure of the sector to deliver outstanding teaching.

“Out of the 312 learning and skills providers we inspected this year, only 15 were judged outstanding for the quality of teaching. All of these were independent learning providers or employer providers. None of the colleges, adult and community learning providers or prisons we inspected received an overall outstanding judgement for the quality of teaching”

Senior managers in Schools, Colleges and Training Providers alike are now under real, and ever increasing pressure, to deliver outstanding teaching. ‘Satisfactory’ teaching is no longer seen as acceptable - indeed such teaching now needs to be categorised as “requiring improvement”. Those teachers judged as ‘good’ are expected to strive for ‘outstanding’ whilst those graded ‘outstanding’ are expected to work hard to maintain the high standards achieved; especially with the increased focus on the teaching standards in the tougher, 2012 inspection regime. 

Most education providers will already be carrying out observations of teaching, training, learning and assessment as a tool to gather information on performance but these will need to be updated to align with the wider remit and focus of the latest inspection. It is anticipated that inspectors will be tasked with making judgements about how outcomes from observations will inform and drive performance management processes. Serious consideration will also need to be given to how the observation process will handle with the “requires improvement” grade; there could be  more of a risk that observers tasked with giving feedback might be keen to avoid confrontation and tempted to allocate “grade 2” to observations that may have received a “grade 3” in the past. Routine inaccurate grading of the quality of teaching will have disastrous consequences at inspection but more importantly, will impact on the achievements of all learners and the welfare of the practitioners themselves.

This workshop is designed for observers, their managers and those responsible for the quality of teaching, training and learning. It explains how the quality of teaching is assessed during inspection and considers what learning providers need to ensure their internal systems and procedures deliver the outputs that are in-line with Ofsted Inspection.  The workshop also explores how the outputs from internal review of teaching, training and learning can be used to deliver outstanding teaching, training and learning.

For Whom

The workshop has a predominantly post-16 focus and will be of particular interest to representatives from FE Colleges, Work-based and Adult Learning Providers. It is for observers, their managers and quality assurance personnel, who have a good understanding of how to observe and grade teaching, training and learning to the 2009 CIF and need to understand better what Ofsted inspectors will be looking for when judging the quality of teaching, training and learning against the 2012 Common Inspection Framework.

Delegate Feedback

'A valuable opportunity to take 'time out' to reflect on current practice, consult/network on different approaches & compare these to the new CIF expectations & therby change for the better.'
Excellence & Innovation Manager, Bolton College

'Very informative - made me think about my own practices, both when teaching & observing. Thank you.'
FL Tutor, HYA Training

'Extremeley useful, advice & guidance from Ofsted perspective on what outstanding learning and teaching looks like.'
Teaching & Learning Advanced Practitioner, Chesterfield College

'Very informative & I would strongly recommend anyone within the industry to attend.'
Company Director, Elev8 Training Ltd

'Very interactive, informative, clear, useful. Excellent techniques and strategies used to engage all members.'
Assessor, Generate

Aims and Objectives

By attending this workshop participants will better understand

Content

1. Understanding the latest requirements
Session one explores Ofsted’s latest expectations in terms of the Quality of Teaching and the education provider’s ability to deliver improvements.

2.  The broader focus for quality of teaching
This session explores many of the key areas which are subject to scrutiny during inspection; how they impact on outcomes for learners and how to make judgements through observing what takes place in ‘learning environments’. The context of ‘learning environments’ will also be a topic for further exploration.

3.  Assessment
The quality and strategies employed for assessment are open to greater scrutiny. In this workshop we shall explore what this means and identify strategies for teachers to implement. We will discuss what inspectors should be looking for and how to measure impact and identify ‘evidence’.

4. Handling the “Requires Improvement” Grade
Telling someone that their performance is inadequate or requires improvement is not easy, especially if their motivation and commitment is to be maintained.  Education providers cannot afford their observer teams to make incorrect gradings. Serious consideration needs to be given about how feedback will be presented to those teachers, trainers and assessors who might be graded ‘satisfactory’.  This session explores possible options and effective solutions.

5. Creating an environment for continuous improvement
In order to drive real improvements in teaching, organisations should consider a range of factors which help to foster an effective teaching and learning culture. This section of this workshop will explore what these factors are and the type of actions necessary to ensure more highly effective operation as an organisation. These include resources; recruitment; IAG; assessment; target-setting; attendance; behaviour; punctuality; the setting, monitoring and marking of work; self- study and independent learning; functional skills integration; diverse teaching methods and many more.

6. Personal Action Planning
Delegates will be encouraged to formulate an action plan to take back to their workplace which reflects any changes or improvement relating to their own context. Opportunities throughout this event, will relate intentions to practical strategies to enable a clearer focus on improving both the observation process and the lesson grades.

Internal Staff Training and Development

This workshop, as with most of our good practice workshops, can be delivered on your premises. This approach is favoured by many of our clients as it provides a quality, value-for-money and highly effective route for staff development.

Running workshops internally, allows participants explore how key issues will impact on them and their organization and as a team begin to agree development action and priorities.

Typical costs for a one day good practice workshop, excluding VAT, are just £1290 + £30/person. Even with groups as small as 6 costs per person costs for internal workshops are lower than attending our open events and savings increase further when delegate travel-time costs and convenience are factored in.

More information at:

http://www.excellence-in-learning.co.uk/index.php?page=internal

Related Observation Workshops

Certificates of Professional Development.

Formal Certificates of Development will be issued, by post, to participants who complete this workshop. These certificates will detail the key learning aims and the face-to-face learning hours undertaken, enabling participants to update their CPD records and logs accordingly. The workshop also allows time, during the day, for participants to reflect on and record their personal learning development and consider how best to apply the knowledge gained on return to work. This element of the programme is designed to maximise the benefits from attending and enable participants to make better review judgments when recording their CPD activities.