Survived my first OFSTED this week

"Officious F****rs Shafting Teachers Every Day" according to Fascinating Aida.

 

Threads about teaching always seem to get round to the same thing in the end or the lazy you're in the wrong job comment . It's a job I love but demands have changed over the years

 

We've just come out of special measures. So had them once a term for nearly 2 years.

 

There are a few jobs that I couldn't do - working at the hospital is one of them - teaching junior and senior school kids is another

I would be ok with the kids that behaved but unruly kids I'd just want to give them a good hiding - like the teachers did to me when I stepped out of line - I had the slipper a few times and I can tell thi this.......it meks thi sit up and take notice once its been dished out

I think in modern day teaching I'd probably end up getting the sack - fairly quickly

 

I think in most jobs you would

 

This is why we were panicking so much! You just dread something is going to go wrong.

Did you get used to it in the end or was it as bad every time?

 

Sssshhh - you can't say anything yet ;-)

 

You get used to it, I guess. The school as a whole was taken over by an "outstanding" academy in the area and we had a lot of staff training and mock ofsteds. The monitoring visits aren't like a section 5 inspection, usually a lead inspector and 2 others, so not quite as stressful.

 

I was just going to ask if you were forced into becoming an academy. We only had a lead and 2 others, which is unusual as we are quite a large school. We were due 2 years ago but it got put back for another 2 until this term.

 

Becoming an academy make it technically a new school, so keeps OFSTED away for 18 months/2 years. Don't think we were "forced." But it was "strongly suggested."

 

We used to get the HMI(mines inspectorate) half a dozen times a year,more as the industry shrunk or if there had been a reportable incident,so I can understand your worry,especially if its something you arnt used to.
But as nudger says,12 hour shifts were common place,more so if you were in contract work,where one week consisted of 7x12 hours shifts on nights then the following week was 7x12 hour on days and it wasn't all just physical work either,contrary to belief mining was a highly skilled job and not just a case of shovelling.
Working in the Selby coalfield were some of the longest hours I worked,12 hour shifts,with a 5.30 am start,where you had to be at work a good 30 mins before the shift started just to hand over from the previous shift,its was also a 40 odd mile run to work so the alarm was set for 3.45 am,we got home in time for coronation street lol.
Long hours were common place for most miners.

fast forward to now and I've been self employed for nearly 18 years,i own a concenience store and long hours are again the order of the day,i suppose its a case of what you get used to.

 

People seem to think that I said that I was more tired than anyone has ever been ever. I said I was more tired than I'd ever been in my life (I got a grand total of 5 hours sleep in 2 days and worked 40 hours over those 2 days, I'd also stupidly taken the kids on a school trip where I didn't get home until 11pm a few days before, not knowing we were going to get the call but hey ho).

I wasn't looking for a competition about who has the worst job/been the most tired but feel free to start your own thread about your woes.

 

Mining is mining; Teaching is teaching. 2 totally different things.

 

I can't edit my post above now but just know that it wasn't directly to you delparker, you did say that you understand my worry. Long hours is something I am definitely used to though!!

I just feel it's akin to someone posting to say they have just had a baby only for other people to start posting that they've had *two* babies and therefore are infinitely better than them and theirs isn't anything for them to be proud of or worth posting about. (Yes, I am aware that comparing OFSTED to having a baby is bizarre!)

 

not saying they arnt,just pointing out I know what its like to be under the cosh of inspectors and offering a bit of sympathy for jamdrop.

 

sorry love,i didn't see your post....I was actually offering a bit of sympathy toward you,i wasn't trying to be the martyr.

 

Im sure the obscene amount of holidays you get will make up for it And lets not forget that most people dont get a butler to help them with their jobs either.

Out of interest a few teachers have said in this thread that due to ofsted theyve had to do long hours to geg ready. Why is that? Are you all not upto ofsted standards the rest of the year for some reason? Genuine question.

Oh and well done on surviving. I hope the next one is a little less stressful for you.

 

They require paper work and things that are not necessary to everyday teaching in the slightest but you are expected to produce when they arrive. Also, displays need to be tittified, again not exactly necessary to everyday teaching but they will scrutinise closely. Then there's the general running around like a blue arsed flea tidying up (my classroom is always tidy thankfully), getting things out for the next day which you would generally do some of in the morning, planning, planning and overplanning lessons that were perfectly fine to begin with and did I mention paperwork? OFSTED standards are not always realistic standards unfortunately but hoops must be jumped through and boxes must be ticked.

 

I think its more thinking "will they comment on that? If they do, can we make it better?" idea. Most schools and colleges run perfectly well without the titivating that is needed for an OFSTED inspection.

And I agree with JamDrop, its the stress that tires you. So much can depend on what the inspectors say.

 

I work for an aviation company, you think you have it bad with paper work its mental.
Its supposed to be for safety, but lets say I can see why planes crash because of the complicated nature of how many hoops you have to jump through to get a simple part out of the door.
I reckon paperwork accounts for 70% of your airfares.