On Wednesday, the Department for Education published the criteria by which teachers in England will be judged in the new appraisals of their performance, starting in September.

Bob Winter, head of sciences at the only secondary special school in Kent, has his doubts about the whole process.

The situation is simple: School headteachers and deputy headteachers are required to attend appraisal courses. Schools, by the end of the summer term, must appoint an external appraiser.

There has been, and still is, a lot of union resistance. The resistance is, however, tempered by recognition that 'appraisal' in its broadest form can be extremely useful.

Appraisal can be a very helpful vehicle through which individuals can share thoughts and ideas and look for ways of improving both knowledge and standards.

I have been teaching for more than 30 years and I am confident that most of what I do is 'best practice'. I am also aware that, on occasions, the students seem to miss something I thought I had made abundantly clear.

On those occasions, self-appraisal is automatic: I go back a step or two and try another way of explaining what was intended.

Having an appraiser in the room, under those circumstances is also useful. Viz: If the appraiser got the message, then it is likely that the students did as well!

Lack of an overview

The whole system starts to fall apart, however, when the appraiser has had no prior knowledge (except looking at lesson plans, target sheets etc.) of the preceding lessons. I am currently in that situation.

When time allows, usually five or 10 minutes at the outside, I observe the lessons of the teachers in my department.

There are six subject areas to cover, mathematics, science, design technology, food technology, textiles and art. Two of those are national curriculum core subjects.

At best, I can make comments about marking, handling of discipline problems and lesson plan details. I can not make comments about the whole lesson: I have not seen it.

If the appraisal system is to work, then the appraiser must observe not one but a number of complete lessons. That is impossible for senior staff in the school to achieve. The onus will, therefore, fall on the appointed appraiser.

The implication is that the appointed appraiser will be an expert in every subject. I don't think I've met that person. (Maybe I did once, he was a lay Ofsted inspector, a plumber by trade, but I think that he was suffering from terminal lead poisoning!)

There are more fundamental issues:

• All schools have a finite budget.
  
• Teachers are paid from that budget.
  
• The budget has to pay for building maintenance, salaries, equipment etc.
  
• The kind of school and the number of students determine the funding.
  
• Big schools could, maybe, afford to have 'super teachers'.
  
• Small schools can not afford 'experienced teachers'.
  
• My school is totally populated by 'experienced teachers'.

But the most contentious issue is that of 'improving standards'.

I work in a special school. We cater for students with learning and other difficulties.

Our current Year 10 and 11 cohort includes a few students who could achieve GCSE accreditation in mathematics, science and information and communication technology. The students in the rest of the school fall way below that level.

One-off

So, as a department, and involving a huge amount of extra working hours, we are determined to give our current students the best chance. We will enter them for GCSEs. We will achieve a number of passes.

We will, unless there is some sort of miraculous intervention, never achieve that again. Given the nature of Ofsted inspections, appraisal, and their relationships between school and teacher success, that would be interpreted as a failing school.

There are no teachers in my school interested in 'fast-track' or 'super teacher' status. We all work crazy hours. We do that because we want to get the "best'' out of our students.

We are all pleased that our pay will be increased. We all realise that a pay increase could result in redundancies!

The government claims to have invested millions of pounds in education.

One question: Where?

The sort of hours Bob Winter works are typified by one week's diary:

Monday

8.25 Arrive at school. Distribute lists of amended teaching groups to the mathematics, science, design technology, food technology, textiles and art teachers and the tutors of the students involved.
8.45 Playground duty:
It's the usual mixture of mirth and mayhem. M runs up to P and thumps him on the back.
"M! Don't hit people!" I shout.
P replies: "It's all right Sir, we're playing 'it'!"
P promptly thumps M and runs away. I make a mental note to ensure that the English Department should clarify the spelling and pronunciation of 'it' and 'hit'.
9.00 Registration and Tutorial lesson:
Registrations complete, bags, coats and other belongings rammed and stuffed into undersized lockers, I then check home-school contact books. The usual three students have forgotten/mislaid them. I make a note so that a letter will go home at the end of the week if the books are still missing.
9.30 Technically a non-contact lesson.
I have planned to check marking in the Mathematics Department. I spend the time shutting down and rebooting/reinstalling the computer network because the server has 'frozen'.
10.15 Science lesson.
Planned lesson shelved and an 'instant' one created in the IT area because the room I normally use is locked and my 'master' key does not fit.
11.00 Break time duty: same as before school.
11.15 Grab a quick coffee on the way to the IT room.
Year seven, double lesson (one and a half hours) lowest ability group. I need the coffee. By the end of the session I also think that I'll put in a bid for a motorbike helmet and/or ear plugs.
12.45 Lunchtime:
Ears are still ringing with "Sir!" "Help, Sir!" and my legs are aching. I make a couple of urgent telephone calls.
13.10 Eat my lunch!
13.15 Lunch time duty: the mayhem is more subdued thankfully, due to fuller tums.
13.30 Afternoon registration. Sort out merit marks, behaviour-reporting slips, have a serious talk with P about his behaviour in lessons during the morning. Make note to write letter to P's parents.
13.45 Afternoon lessons:
Year 8 (double lesson) - repeat performance of the year 7 lesson in the morning and didn't they do well! (Change lesson plans for the next two weeks).
15.15 Bus Duty: usual routine.
15.45 Last student collected.
15.45-16.30 Check marking (planned for lesson 1).
17.30 Arrive home
18.35 Start homework:
Record lesson updates, marking of work, targets achieved, etc. for all lessons today. Write/ amend worksheets for the following day and print (40 pages of A4).
Write letters to parents/guardians of P, M and J. Write memo to department teacher re: marking.
Reply to e-mails. Reply to local authority re. National Grid for Learning capital allowances and proposed spending.
Update five-year development plan to reflect spending proposals. Update schemes of work to reflect changes in lesson plans.
23.11 Go to bed.

Tuesday

8.35 Arrive at school. Distribute memos re. marking to relevant staff.
8.45-15.15 Ordinary day, no 'duties' so I am able to catch up with more urgent stuff: advise members of the department re. new advice from CLEAPS regarding health and safety.
15.30 Staff meeting.
18.30 Arrive home.
19.00 Update marking, lesson plans, targets achieved etc.
Write new worksheets re. unexpected performance from Year 9 group. Update related lesson-monitoring data. Revise worksheets for BTEc course tomorrow.
22.15 Go to bed.

Wednesday

8.20 Arrive at school.
8.45-15.15 Urgent e-mail and telephone contacts re: MOUS accreditation during morning and lunchtime breaks.
Serious stuff to complete: discussion with ICT advisor for the Medway local education authority indicates that I have a student working at level 7 of the national curriculum and two more at level 6!
Late GCSE entry complicated by the need to have an educational psychologist's report within the last two years. ICT advisor to help with solutions to the problem.
15.30-18.30 Go home, eat, bathe, change.
18.30-21.30 Btec course: third week. Lesson outcome: of the 14 students (adults) three are unlikely to succeed (need simplified material). Three could achieve MOUS accreditation.
22.00 Update all records for the day, amend lesson plans for tomorrow. Start amendments to Btec and MOUS accreditation courses. Design MOUS brochure.
01.45 Go to bed.

Thursday

8.32 Arrive at school. Distribute course amendments to all concerned.
8.45 - 15.15 Things to do - MOUS accreditation, GCSE entries - frustrated due to being on duty morning, lunchtime and at the end of school.

General solutions re. GCSE entries, support etc. queried. Check advice update re. GSCE entries. Enter GCSE Students for ICT (entry confounded by obscure nature of courses!)
15.45 Staff meeting
17.00 Governors' meeting
19.00 Arrive home
19.45 Sort out MOUS and GCSE stuff online. Update lessons plans, marking etc. MOUS stuff completed. Edexcel GCSE stuff to be finalised.
23.18 Go to bed.

Friday

9.10 Assembly.
8.45-15.15 Full teaching commitment.
Things to do:
1. MOUS stuff: e-mail confirms progression of accreditation centre status.
2. Telephone 'Kent Curriculum Support Agency' (Keith) re. progression of late GCSE entries. Seek clarity re. GCSE courses in ICT/ed psych reports, reading levels etc. Unable to contact Keith, messages left.
3. Check lesson plans and target setting for Key Stage 4 Group 1 Science: Write target sheets and annotate re. national curriculum levels, accreditation, etc.
4.Update my own lesson plans and targets.
23.20 Stop, save e-mail, go to bed.

Saturday

14.00-16.00 Update records of targets achieved in ICT. Review lesson plans for least able science students submitted by member of staff concerned: suggest two revisions to meet national curriculum requirements. Draw up a list of draft targets for the group.
Design and print tests for Year 7 Science.
17.55 Produce target sheet for least able science group. Design worksheet for most able science group for Monday and Tuesday's lessons. Print worksheets.
Complete work on MOUS brochure; print evaluation copy.
21.00 Stop, relax, watch television with my wife. (Strange! She still seems to know who I am!)

Sunday

14.00-15.00 Read through revised scheme of work from the teacher of design technology. Make notes of a couple of amendments that are required. Query regarding resource implications compared with the capitation bid he has made.
19.00 Write memos to head of design technology and pastoral head.
Complete the designing of Monday and Tuesday's worksheets for most able science group. Print worksheets and target sheet for least able group.
Check marking of mathematics using sample of books taken home.
Write memo to myself to remember that I need to check Art Department material: not checked this term! Review target progression (staff targets) resulting from staff appraisal process. Add to personal memo the need to check progression of related INSET training request.
22.13 Stop. Relax!
22.35 Remember that I haven't checked e-mail. Restart computer and download cover lesson work from head of science who has, very sensibly, remembered the fragility of the school's National Grid for Learning connection where downloads are concerned, and the limitations of the school's fax machine. Print cover lesson stuff.
23.05 Go to bed.

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