ion
Association of Teachers and Lecturers logo

Observation and assessment

Failing your induction

If you are a full-time teacher, you should be observed in the first four weeks of your new teaching post.

Observation of your teaching is the basis for formative (giving feedback on your progress) and summative (formal) assessments. The government’s guidance in England and Wales states that your induction tutor is likely to undertake most of the observations of your teaching. Similar, although not identical procedures to those described here are in place in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Observation should take place as follows:

  • if you are a full-time teacher, you should be observed in the first four weeks of your new teaching post, after which you should be observed teaching at least once in any six-to eight-week period, ie approximately once each half-term
  • if you are a part-time teacher, these intervals should be adjusted accordingly but you should still have received your first observation in the first half-term.          

You should keep a record if any observation falls outside the guidance that is given above, where possible indicating the reasons that were given to you as to why you could not be observed. If observation does not take place, or if it doesn’t happen in line with the timings indicated above, you should raise this with your induction tutor, your head of department or the headteacher as appropriate.

Start quote
All arrangements for observation should be agreed with you in advance.
End quote

All arrangements for observation should be agreed with you in advance. You should always know what the particular focus of any observation is going to be, and be able to see that it is related to completing the requirements for the Induction Standards.

The importance of feedback

There should also be a follow-up discussion when your induction tutor analyses the lesson he or she has observed. 

The quality of this feedback is the most important part of the tutoring process. It should be constructive and clearly indicate the extent to which you are achieving the standards. It should also take place as soon as possible after the observed lesson so that you can gain the maximum benefit.

You should be given a brief, written record of each observation, which relates to your objectives for development and which clearly indicates where action should be taken. If any objectives have been revised, this should be clear on the written record. You should be involved in the review and in setting new objectives. If any of these provisions for your observation are breached, you should raise this with your induction tutor. 

Inadequate or unhelpful feedback is a more difficult issue, but you should always seek further help from ATL on how you might remedy this, because your success during the year is linked to the support you receive to improve your teaching.

Observations by teachers other than your induction tutor

While your induction tutor is likely to undertake most of the observations of your teaching, it is possible that you will be observed by other teachers with particular specialisms or responsibilities such as special educational needs (SEN) or pastoral care. You may also be observed by advanced skills teachers from other schools or tutors from higher education institutions. 

Whoever observes you, the principles remain the same:

  • it should be part of a programme agreed in advance
  • you should understand clearly why you are being observed
  • there should be a follow-up discussion to analyse the lesson that was observed
  • a brief, written record should be made, relating to your objectives for development and indicating where action should be taken.          

If you are not happy with the way you are being observed, seek advice from ATL if you are a member.

Professional reviews of progress

The professional review of progress is the most important part of your induction support programme. Professional review meetings should take place at regular intervals and there should be at least one scheduled review meeting in any six-to-eight-week period, ie every half-term.

For part-time teachers, the intervals between professional review meetings should be adjusted, but the first meeting should take place in the first half-term. 

Your objectives should be reviewed and revised in light of the standards and your needs and strengths. There should be a written record of your progress towards your objectives, any new objectives and the steps that will be taken to support you to achieve these objectives. 

The role of the induction tutor should be to provide formative as well as summative assessments, since both make an important contribution to your development. In effect, you should know:

  • the extent to which you are judged to be meeting the relevant standards
  • if you are judged not to be meeting the standards, exactly where you are deficient and how you can plan to improve your skills.          

The professional review meetings, therefore, should be discussions between you and your induction tutor and should be informed by evidence, eg from observation of your teaching. 

Evidence - a key word here - is not your induction tutor's opinion. It is based on specific incidents in your teaching set against evaluative criteria which allow you to see exactly what it was that made the difference between your performance and acceptable standards. 

Some local authorities (LAs) may provide guidance on evidence collecting as part of their quality assurance responsibilities. It would obviously be sensible for you to read this. You can expect your induction tutor to discuss it with you. 

Professional review meetings are also meant to focus on the CEDP and to review and revise your objectives for professional development in your action plan in the light of the formative assessment. These objectives should determine what development activities are arranged as part of your individualised programme of support.

Setting objectives

Setting objectives is a useful way for your induction tutor to help you reach the standards by planning development opportunities through which your teaching will improve. They form part of your individualised action plan, drawn up and discussed with your induction tutor.

Your action plan should identify the following:

  • Objectives: between three and five, which are carefully phrased, focused, realistic and achievable; enable you to build on your identified strengths; support your needs; and are related to achieving the Induction Standards.
  • Success criteria: clearly phrased, descriptive criteria against which you can judge whether you have achieved each objective. 
  • Actions: that you and others need to take to achieve the objectives, and an indication of who needs to do what and which actions are realistic and achievable within the resources available. 
  • Resources: that will be needed to support the plan, including the time that will be allocated for your development opportunities. 
  • Target dates for achievement: which are realistic and manageable.
  • Review dates: when progress will next be evaluated, usually the date of the next professional review meeting.          

Professional development activities

A clear purpose of induction is to begin the process of ‘lifelong learning’ with the expectation of continuous professional development. You are meant to have planned and targeted professional development activities during the induction year which are based on your CEDP action plan. 

The professional development activities are intended to help you meet the Induction Standards. They could include:

  • taking part in any staff programme at your school, eg on the literacy and numeracy strategies
  • making contributions with other teachers to specific school improvement activities
  • spending time with the school's SEN coordinator to focus on general or specific SEN matters
  • receiving appropriate advice or training from professionals outside the school, and attending external training events that are relevant to your identified needs.          

There must be evidence that you have had opportunities for professional development if your school is to show that it has met the requirements for your induction period. 

Observing experienced teachers

The government’s guidance specifies that NQTs should be given opportunities to observe experienced teachers to help develop good practice in specific areas of teaching, in their own or other schools. Such observation is often found by NQTs to be the most useful induction activity. It is good practice, therefore, for observation of experienced teachers to be arranged for you by your induction tutor. 

The important point to remember about observing an experienced teacher is that you must know:

  • why you are going to observe them
  • what it will contribute to your objectives 
  • that what you observe will be discussed, preferably with both the experienced teacher(s) and your induction tutor.          

It should be seen as a professional development activity and not just something set up for its own sake. You should be involved in identifying it as a need at one of your professional review meetings.

If you are unsure how an observation fits in with your action plan and objectives, or if you feel that observing an experienced teacher would help you develop, raise this with your induction tutor.

Assessment arrangements

Assessment against the standards is a continuous theme in the Induction Regulations. Your induction tutor should work with you to plan an individual induction programme to ensure that:

  • you are fully supported in meeting the Induction Standards
  • the assessment is fair and well-founded.          

It is essential for you to be aware of the assessment requirements, the procedures that will be followed and what is expected of you. 

One of your responsibilities will be to know what standards are needed for the award of QTS and the Induction Standards (in England and Wales), which are available on the TDA website. Induction tutors will also need to be familiar with the standards and to have skills in assessment. 

Formal assessment meetings

The Induction Regulations provide for three formal assessment meetings during the induction period. These will be between the NQT and either the headteacher or the induction tutor acting on behalf of the headteacher. Formal assessment meetings should: 

  • for full-time NQTs, take place near the end of every term; for part-time NQTs, an initial assessment meeting should be held towards the end of the first term, and then, across subsequent terms, at equivalent intervals to those for full-time NQTs
  • be informed by written reports from at least two observations and two professional review meetings that have taken place during that term 
  • have an agreed agenda and be held in a setting where interruption is unlikely.          

These are important meetings and they should be clearly distinguished from the more informal and formative professional review meetings. 

Ideally a formal assessment meeting should not take place immediately after a professional review meeting, as potentially it could be a stressful and tiring experience. It also leaves insufficient time for you to reflect on the advice you have received from the formative assessment in the professional review meeting. If this is proposed, you could seek advice from ATL, if you are a member. 

You should expect to:

  • receive a schedule for formal assessment meetings
  • have the written reports made available to you before the formal assessment meeting.          

In most cases: 

  • the first meeting will be concerned with the extent to which you are consistently meeting the QTS standards 
  • the second meeting is likely to be concerned first and foremost with the extent to which the Induction Standards are being met 
  • the third meeting makes a final summative judgment as to whether all the Induction Standards have been met, and its main focus will be on identifying new objectives for the second year of teaching.          

The government’s guidance says that the judgements should be based on evidence systematically gathered during the induction period and should relate directly to the standards for the award of QTS as well as the Induction Standards. The evidence should emerge from your everyday work and from your support programme, rather than being compiled just for the purposes of assessment. The guidance emphasises that there should be no surprises. 

As well as these written records, other examples of evidence are:

  • formal and informal assessment records of pupils for whom you have responsibility 
  • information about liaison with others, such as colleagues and parents 
  • your lesson plans, records and evaluations 
  • your self-assessments and record of professional development.          

If you cannot see that evidence is being systematically gathered, or where it relates to the standards, you should raise your concerns at the formal assessment meeting. ATL would advise you not to attend a formal assessment meeting if you have not had the written reports from at least two observations and two professional review meetings.

At the end of each formal assessment meeting, a report will be completed by the headteacher - or the induction tutor acting on behalf of the headteacher - which will be forwarded to the appropriate body. This report should be made available to you. The government’s guidance says that these reports should indicate clearly whether or not you are judged to be making satisfactory progress at that stage of your induction period. 

You, your induction tutor, and your headteacher are all required to sign the assessment form, which should be sent to the appropriate body within 10 working days following the summative assessment meeting. 

There is a space on the form for you to make comments, which must be done within the 10 working days allowed for the return of the form. The government’s guidance states that NQTs should be encouraged to add their comments to the report. Although there are special arrangements for NQTs who are not making satisfactory progress, it is important for you to make sure your comments are recorded at this stage if you believe there are concerns which are not fully represented in the formal, written summative assessment. 

If you are member of ATL, you should seek advice from your ATL rep if you have any doubts as to whether you should sign the form or if you want advice on what comments you should make.

If your first few weeks as an NQT go by and you find that you haven’t yet been observed teaching a class, what should you do – keep quiet, or say something? Elizabeth Holmes, author of ATL’s publication Apply yourself!, offers the following advice.

It's really important that you raise this with your induction tutor because, as an NQT, you do have certain responsibilities to make your concerns known in good time. It's a good idea to document your concerns for your own benefit and also any steps that you have taken to resolve them. 

During your first term of induction you should be observed fairly close to the start of the first half-term (and certainly within your first four weeks in post) and again in the second half-term. Thereafter you should also have two observations a term. 

Don't keep this quiet. This is something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. 

If you have any concerns at all about the way in which your induction is being carried out in your school, there are several courses of action you can take. 

  • You can talk to your induction tutor about your concerns.
  • You can raise any worries you have with your head teacher. 
  • You can discuss things with the person with responsibilities for
    NQTs in your LA. 
  • You can consult ATL, if you are a member.          

Whatever route you decide to take, be sure to keep a written record of your concerns, when you first had them and what you have done for yourself to try to resolve them.

This text is taken from page 63 of Elizabeth Holmes’ book FAQs for NQTs: Practical advice and working solutions for newly qualified teachers. (2006) Routledge. Hardback ISBN: 0415367956; price £65 Paperback ISBN 0415367964; price £16.99. 

If you find that observations do not seem to have any focus and you are not getting any feedback or follow up on them, what should you do? Elizabeth Holmes, author of ATL’s publication Apply yourself!, offers the following advice.

That's not how observations should work. The whole point of being observed is to further your professional development. Each observation should have a focus informed by what you need to achieve in order to pass your induction successfully and your objectives for your development as a teacher. This is really essential - there's no point in 'blind' observations, they simply waste time and create negative stress. 

After each observation, you should have a follow-up discussion with your induction tutor. The purpose of this is so that you can both analyse what happened and the lessons rhat can be learned from it. A brief written record should then be made of the discussion you had which, the guidance suggests, should show any revisions that you decide to make in your objectives.

This text is taken from page 64 of Elizabeth Holmes’ book FAQs for NQTs: Practical advice and working solutions for newly qualified teachers. (2006) Routledge. Hardback ISBN: 0415367956; price £65 Paperback ISBN 0415367964; price £16.99. 

 Download ATL's publication, Induction: making it work for you, full of further advice on how to get the most out of your first year in teaching.

Help and support 
For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000) or Belfast office (02890 327 990) or email info@atl.org.uk.

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time). Don’t forget that ATL also offers a Crisis Line for members who have suffered assaults or trauma either at work or in their private lives (08705 234 838).

If you are not a member, join online now.

Resources