Chesterfield College Proposals on Quality Assurance Improvement Strategy Help Us to Develop a UCU Response:
Please let us know your views by this Friday, 5 October.
All staff will have received an email containing the college’s proposals for a Quality Assurance Improvement Strategy. This contains proposals on formal graded observations. These are vitally important for all teaching staff at the college.
UCU both nationally and here at the college have long campaigned for changes to the observation policy arguing for policies that support staff and which are not punitive.
The Chesterfield College UCU branch is seeking the views of our members on the issues raised by the college’s proposals.
Please contact one of your union officers, Paula Alsop, James Eaden, Allister Mactaggart, & Sam Parker and feedback any views that you have about the college’s proposals.
Already a number of concerns have been raised by UCU members. Your UCU branch officers will be meeting with the college in the week beginning October 8th to feedback members’ views.
Some of the issues raised so far by UCU members at Chesterfield College include:
· The policy calls for “at least “ one graded observation per year. UCU members have said that there should be one observation unless staff either request a further observation or if they are re-observed following a grade 4.
· The policy suggests that there should be a pre- meeting between the observer and members of staff to be observed one week before the observation. Some UCU members have commented that this a positive step, however they believe that this meeting should clearly identify the session to be observed.
· Some members have stated that there should be a right to “turn down” a particular observer and opt for an alternative from the panel of trained observers.
· However by far the most serious concern raised by UCU members who have read the policy documents is the link between a grade 3 and the college’s formal capability procedure. This raises the possibility of staff being sacked as a result of getting a grade 3 - a grade that OFSTED suggests is a lesson where “teaching strategies ensure that learners’ individual needs are usually met”.
The issue of lesson observations is being addressed in FE Colleges around the country and the latest edition of the UCU’s FE News contains some very useful examples of agreements reached in other colleges over lesson observations. Please take a few minutes to read through the extract below.
Graded observations on the way
out?
Following on from news that The Manchester
College is scrapping the use of graded
observations agreement ending a dispute has
now been reached at the College of North West
London to also stop the use of grades within
their lesson observation scheme. Momentum
appears to be growing against the use of
graded observations and toward genuinely
supportive and developmental lesson
observation schemes with Bournemouth and
Poole College also scrapping grades in their
recently revised scheme.
UCU to commission research into lesson
observations
UCU is commissioning a piece of research to
investigate the role of lesson observation in the
Further Education (FE) sector. The research will
explore and evaluate current models of lesson
observation and their perceived purposes and
effects on FE lecturers’ professional practice
and development and seek to identify best
practice. The findings of this research together
with other activity around UCU’s lesson
observations campaigning are likely to be
presented in a seminar later in the 2012/13
year.
Win at City College Brighton and Hove
UCU City College Brighton and Hove branch
have succeeded in negotiation significant
improvements to their observation scheme
including:
• removal of Grade 3 link to unsatisfactory
performance procedures
• observation windows announced at start
of the year
• minimum 3 days notice of specific
observation
• temporary reductions in teaching loads
for staff to undertaking training
