I love the concept of ‘magical moments’ as a teacher. You know, the ones that leave learners changed. They can be huge, cross-curricula moments that take a lot of planning, or very small ones that just take a little thought. Even better, though are the magical moments preceded by a wonderful cocktail of curiosity and anticipation. Isn’t it a shame that, so often, Progress Reviews don’t fall into this category of experiences. Why do you think that might be? Teachers […]

On Wednesday afternoon, we’ll be looking at The Art of Using Target Setting. I know, I know, who ‘wants’ to attend yet another session on SMART?! However, I’d like to think that this one is different. That word – ‘different’ – is really important in this context; as the good Mr Einstein rightly proclaimed: ‘Madness is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results’. Yet isn’t that what we so often see with training on target setting; […]

Over this last three weeks I’ve been delighted to be back observing teachers in the thick of the action – live, in person! A complete privilege.. And while observing, something profound happened. I’ve been doing this professionally for the last 20 years (actually got into teaching by observing a master at work 35 years ago), so ‘profound’ isn’t something that happens often. Let me explain. You may have seen me write about the CCQI RED System before. This is a […]

Tools for online engagement & blended learning Back in the early 90s, I studied the LeTTOL course: Learning To Teach OnLine. We’d only just got email, but I had high hopes for the future of tech! (That said, I was also one of those teenagers that bought a Commodore 64 and had far too much patience when typing copious amounts of code that spilled out of nerdy magazines; [though less patience when after half an hour of thumb-twiddling the tape […]

I’m aware of how that sounds, but do please hear me out. When I was a full timer with the ALI, and then as an HMI with Ofsted, and even when I’d left the big O and was contracted by LSIS, I use to run the ‘Preparing for Inspection’ nominee training events. Week in, week out for nearly a decade. So you might be surprised to know that I’ve never offered any inspection-preparation training as part of my own work, […]