Teach Middle East Magazine Jan-Feb 2017 Issue 3 Volume 4 | Page 10

Administrator ' s Corner

10 things you should not do when your school is being inspected

By Graham Norris

It ’ s hard to forget what we were doing when we received notification of our school ’ s inspection , isn ’ t it ? That ’ s probably because , no matter how confident we are in what we are doing for our students every day , our natural instinct is to panic when we hear that the inspectors are coming .

In my last article , I offered ten tips to help teachers show what their students were capable of . In this follow-up article , I would like to offer ten don ’ ts . The following are the kinds of obstacles that get in the way when schools are trying to show themselves as they would wish to be mirrored in their inspection reports . They certainly don ’ t apply to all schools , but are perhaps worth bearing in mind nevertheless .
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Don ’ t prepare lots of new documentation for the inspection . Your school isn ’ t about documentation and neither are inspectors . What really matters is how well the school can share the quality of its learning , teaching and students ’ achievement , and show how improvement is being choreographed , using relevant evidence and interventions .
Don ’ t provide documentation without being able to explain what it means or shows . Assessment data and exam results are for you to show how well students are doing , where you want to target improvements , and the impact the school is having on students ’ progress .
Don ’ t forget that , it ’ s your quality assurance structures , selfevaluation and improvement planning that show how well you know your school . This is key evidence for inspectors in order to assess your school ’ s capacity to improve itself ,
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and of course that ’ s a major outcome of inspection .
Don ’ t underestimate your school ’ s performance or indeed overestimate it . Use benchmarks and published standards to gauge and describe your performance accurately , so that inspectors can see that you know your school inside out .
Don ’ t set up ‘ prove us wrong ’ challenges . It is far better to explain how you know how good your school is . This helps inspectors to be able to readily ‘ prove you right ’.
Don ’ t forget to help inspectors shape their learning / focus trails . This helps in providing them with first-hand experience of those improvements , which have had the most positive impact on student outcomes .
Don ’ t put on façades . Students know when things are changed just for inspection week . Many
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of them enjoy telling inspectors all about the new things that are put on for show . That ’ s not helpful to anyone .
Don ’ t forget that you are always ‘ acclimatised ’ for inspection because you do the best for your students every day . Stick with what you know you are good at .
Don ’ t be reticent when finding out how things are going . Make sure your daily interactions with inspectors explore their views of emerging strengths , as well as any possible concerns . If you have to ask , then ask . Remember , inspection is ‘ with ’ you , not done ‘ to ’ you .
Don ’ t forget to give feedback to inspectors . They also experience many of the emotions that you do and need the confidence to have an open professional dialogue with you .
8 | Jan - Feb 2017 | | Class Time