Ofsted Aftermath

It's hard to explain the education system to my friends and family back in America.  "It's just not the same"comes out of my mouth nearly every time I mention work.  And then there's Ofsted.  

I wrote a few weeks ago that we were shocked by the fall in our GCSE results.  From the first day back the bar has been raised - a much greater demand has been placed on the quality our teaching, marking and the behaviour and progress of our students.  We knew Ofsted were coming and we knew they wouldn't be happy.  

While the changes are fabulous and really good for the kids, it's exhausting.  I'm proud of my work and I know what I need to do to be the best.  But it is time consuming and incredibly tiring.  I will get to work at 7:30 and finish working around 10:00pm - daily.  Perhaps that is just the territory that comes with being an English teacher.

And then on Wednesday we received the call that Ofsted was arriving in 20 hours.  Not even the pretty sky could take my mind off of it.

So two days later I've survived.  I was rated Good with outstanding features.  I shouldn't complain, but I was slightly disappointed as I was judged Outstanding last year.  As for the school - well, we don't know yet.  I've been told that there's a lot of work that needs to be done.

I'm anxious.  I'm nervous.  I'm upset.  I'm not really sure what is in store, but I know what I'm like - I will work hard to be Outstanding - late nights and working weekends included.

Considering my diet consisted of half a pizza, a doughnut and twelve cups of coffee over the two days Ofsted were in, I'm going to focus on eating right and getting my energy letters back up.  Green smoothies definitely on the menu.

Difficult times ahead....hopefully I can keep finding the positives.

xx

Finding the sunshine on a cloudy day

The release of GCSE results last week has rendered me speechless; hence my stunned silence.

I knew trouble was brewing the night before when the news articles claimed a drastic drop in results. I was naturally quite worried...but nothing prepared me for how bad it was.

I was already anxious about returning, but I still made the effort and marked and planned, preparing myself for my new classes in September.  Now, I'm just freaked out.

What do you do when you feel an absolute failure?  I'm sure most of my colleagues are in the same boat - wondering what we could have done differently and how we could have reached those kids who didn't do as well as expected.  We are not a school that gets 40%.

Today is the final day of the summer holidays, I am trying to find positivity and motivation.

I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference. This year is going to be hard.  Whispers of Ofsted and Special Measures cloud the start of the new year.

When I started this blog I did so to reflect on the positive things and focus on the good in my life in spite of the stress work causes.  I think now, more than ever, I'm going to need to remember that.

Stay tuned.  Cloudy times are ahead.

xx