Blogs

Teaching styles – what does Ofsted want to see?

Ofsted has gone on the attack in a bid to get the message out to schools about its position on teaching styles. Gerald Haigh gives us an essential update on this recent spate of activity.

 

Something remarkable has been unfolding at Ofsted Towers over these last few windy weeks, where leading inspectors – in particular HMI Mike Cladingbowl, director of schools, have been busy myth-busting.

His particular mission has been to reiterate that, first, there is no Ofsted-preferred teaching style, and, second, that inspectors should not grade individual lessons.

Misunderstandings proliferate around lesson observations. There has, for example, been an assumption, partly driven by the kind of comments found in many inspection reports, that inspectors want to see lots of independent learning and a minimum of teacher talk. (For example: “...work is over-directed by the teacher and there are few opportunities for students to find things out for themselves.”)

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here