Context Matters, Especially for Inspections, Mind the Gap, Ep.120 (S6,E18)

About this episode

Tom and Emma discuss the importance of understanding the unique contexts of schools in relation to inspections and school improvement.

In this episode Tom and Emma go head-to-head to discuss realities that schools face as they grapple with an ever-expanding variety of social and economic issues while simultaneously attempting to deliver quality education. Emma says, "I think we could probably agree as a profession that there are core things that are common to great classroom teaching, but in terms of school improvement, I think that needs a much more forensic, bespoke look at the genuine context of each school because there aren't shiny, transferable solutions because of the nature of the breadth of school type in our system." Tom envisions an inspection system without judgements that supports schools and attempts to understand their contexts. As he says, "Schools need to be known, not just visited." Overall, they thank teachers for their hard work across the system, and acknowledge that school improvement can be much easier for schools who already have resources and support than for those without. Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specialising in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. He regularly…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tom Sherrington, Emma Turner

Topics covered

• school improvement
• education context
• inspections
• teacher development

Keywords

• social issues
• economic issues
• quality education
• teacher support

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Mind the Gap

Places: UK

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