How Schools Can Monitor Teachers’ Development – Without The Admin…
Want to take the pain out of performance management? it’s time to Get digital, urges Damien Roberts…
For teachers, the idea of performance management is often met with stress and apprehension – especially since the introduction of Performance Related Pay (PRP).
The process came under more fire earlier this year, after research from the NUT and ATL revealed that one in 12 teachers were denied a salary increase as part of the scheme.
With the added concerns of workload, inspections and the teacher shortage, how can schools effectively manage the process of performance management and encourage teachers to get on board?
Monitoring the performance of teachers is essential, not only for ensuring the best possible education for the students of the school, but also for the professional development of the teachers themselves. However, the current system can often end up demotivating teachers instead of inspiring them, and with a seemingly never-ending tide of administration, it’s not hard to see why.
It’s therefore important that senior leaders try to make the process as easy, effective and transparent as possible – and digitising the process helps to alleviate a lot of the issues associated with PRP.
Evidence matters
Assessment and inspections mean that there are certain objectives that must be met as a part of teaching and learning, but this creates a process akin to box-ticking, when the focus should really be on the overall standard and innovation of the teaching.
Teachers need to showcase their ability to inspire and educate – but the implementation of technology in schools means that this no longer has to be confined to the pages of exercise books. Staff can capture video and photographic evidence of their lessons and the work of their pupils, which means that particularly in subjects with substantial practical elements, such as PE and science, teachers can produce clear evidence of best practice.
It can then be uploaded to a central electronic system, enabling teachers and leaders to access a comprehensive bank of evidence for performance management and inspection from one place.
Seeing the benefits
One of the key complaints made about PRP is the lack of transparency, in that the reasons for teachers being denied a salary increase are not always clear. Again, the need to meet certain criteria is crucial. Establishing a list of objectives that feed into both the individual’s career progression and whole-school priorities can help to set the trajectory for performance throughout the year.
However, the issue that then arises is that conversations relative to performance can happen at any time – whether it’s in a structured and recorded meeting, or simply a casual conversation in a corridor. This means that potentially important information passed between parties isn’t always ‘on-the-books’ when it comes to evaluation.
Again, by going digital in performance management, the conversation can be kept in one place. If, for example, a line manager has sent a reminder to a teacher about a specific objective that hasn’t been met or responded to, this can be used to show where potential shortfalls are. Conversely if a teacher has specifically requested help in a certain area, this can also be highlighted.
In terms of Ofsted inspections, this can be helpful in meeting the outlined requirement that the whole school ‘Improves staff practice […] through rigorous performance management and appropriate professional development’.
Taking the weight off
Back in spring, the then education secretary, Nicky Morgan, brought teacher workload back into the spotlight by speaking on the subject at this year’s NASUWT conference. Indeed, anything that adds to the already frantic schedule of teachers, be it planning, marking or attending meetings, is bound to be treated with caution.
However, by ensuring that the performance management process is a simple value-adding exercise, with minimal workload effects, schools can fulfil all the necessary requirements needed, whilst still protecting the interests of their teaching staff.
Most people today own some form of smartphone or tablet device, and schools can use this to their advantage. By putting in place a centralised electronic evidence and performance management system, teachers will be able to capture evidence, update their profile and communicate with their line managers quickly and simply from the palm of their hand.
By taking away the need to spend extra time or unnecessary effort on demonstrating their performance, teachers can be encouraged to make more frequent updates while still being able to focus on what’s really important – the education and wellbeing of their pupils.
Ultimately, schools want to support their staff as much as possible. In order to get them on board with processes such as performance management, they need to be providing teachers with everything they need to perform well and progress in their careers.
By combining all the different elements of performance management in one place, the process can be streamlined – thus allowing senior leaders to ensure that teaching is up to standard at all times, while enabling teachers to actually focus on their performance.
Damien Roberts is business development director at Derventio, developer of the school improvement software, SchooliP; for more information, visit www.derventiosolutions.com or follow @derventioedu
