Mockstead? No Thanks!
Why would anyone volunteer to put themselves through a non-compulsory inspection? That’s what Adam Lowing thought, before several experiences changed his mind…
- by Adam Lowing
- Former headteacher and experienced school improvement consultant Visit website
‘What is the point of this?’
That was my precise thought some five years ago, when our headteacher attempted to excitedly sell the benefits of Challenge Partners to us in a staff meeting. We were told of a charitable programme born out of the London Challenge, and how this school-to-school review model was going to make us even better. Hang on, I thought, The London Challenge – wasn’t that for failing urban schools? How did it apply to us, since we were neither failing nor urban?
Thoughts began to run through my head of ‘Mockstead’ horror stories told to me by colleagues at other schools, experiences that left staff crushed. I was convinced someone was going to come into our school and hammer us for no good reason. No thank you. I left that meeting feeling cynical at best and skulked off to my classroom, trying not to think about the impending doom…
The bigger picture
Two months later, ‘doom’ rocked up on our doorstep in the form of a lead reviewer and three senior leaders from other schools. Time for battle. Except it wasn’t a war. The review team watched lessons, talked to children, examined assessment information, chatted with leaders and looked at learning in books. They got an excellent sense of the strengths of the school, but also what might be improved. The dialogue was honest and transparent, and for the first time in my career I started to get a sense of the bigger picture. Back then I was a class teacher and middle leader, and the experience awoke in me a sense of how I personally could make a difference to school improvement. The feedback on my teaching and its impact on learning was positive, and I came away from the process feeling as though I’d grown in self-belief, rather than being diminished.
Suddenly, RAISEonline started to make sense; I could see how everything fitted together. Sig plus, sig minus, valued added, performance against national – all these terms became clearer. Visiting other schools, I gained confidence in what we were doing and found inspiration for how we might evolve our own practice.
Positive recognition
I’m now in my third school – this time as headteacher – at St Mary Cray Primary Academy in Orpington. We’ve just had our first Challenge Partners review, and once again the feedback has been invaluable.
There is a strong sense of collaboration; the process is done with you, not to you. As a school we’ve been through a journey of improvement, and the review was a key part of this. For the first time, someone from the outside, with gravitas, started to verify that what we were doing was right.
For staff to hear that we were a ‘good’ school has been an inspiration, and it’s also helped our whole school community to understand that we are receiving positive recognition. Much more importantly, though, it’s not the summative element but the developmental feedback that nudges you to unpick areas of school improvement. The initial fears I harboured as a grumpy, sceptical class teacher have never come to fruition. There has never been a sense of destruction. Instead, it has always been about building for the future.
School-to-school improvement can clearly work and, if done in the right way, is such a powerful tool. I have seen it change schools, colleagues and ultimately my own understanding, confidence and aspirations.
Adam Lowing is headteacher at St Mary Cray Primary Academy in Orpington; for more information about Challenge Partners, visit challengepartners.org or follow @ChallengePartnr
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For the school, it most definitely added value; we had been in a strong position for a number of years, and it was the first time in quite a while that an external body had delivered developmental feedback that was entirely accurate (and honest)! The report generated was a true reflection of where we were.
The other side of the fence
I later moved to a different school, in a more senior role, and once again found myself involved with Challenge Partners – this time training to become a reviewer who would go out to other schools and be part of a team led by an Ofsted inspector. From my very first review, sitting on the other side of the fence so to speak gave me an insight into what the inspectorate must see when it comes knocking. (Though the Challenge Partner framework doesn’t replicate Ofsted’s, it is based on similar principles).
Suddenly, RAISEonline started to make sense; I could see how everything fitted together. Sig plus, sig minus, valued added, performance against national – all these terms became clearer. Visiting other schools, I gained confidence in what we were doing and found inspiration for how we might evolve our own practice.
Positive recognition
I’m now in my third school – this time as headteacher – at St Mary Cray Primary Academy in Orpington. We’ve just had our first Challenge Partners review, and once again the feedback has been invaluable.
There is a strong sense of collaboration; the process is done with you, not to you. As a school we’ve been through a journey of improvement, and the review was a key part of this. For the first time, someone from the outside, with gravitas, started to verify that what we were doing was right.
For staff to hear that we were a ‘good’ school has been an inspiration, and it’s also helped our whole school community to understand that we are receiving positive recognition. Much more importantly, though, it’s not the summative element but the developmental feedback that nudges you to unpick areas of school improvement. The initial fears I harboured as a grumpy, sceptical class teacher have never come to fruition. There has never been a sense of destruction. Instead, it has always been about building for the future.
School-to-school improvement can clearly work and, if done in the right way, is such a powerful tool. I have seen it change schools, colleagues and ultimately my own understanding, confidence and aspirations.
Adam Lowing is headteacher at St Mary Cray Primary Academy in Orpington; for more information about Challenge Partners, visit challengepartners.org or follow @ChallengePartnr
