Classroom observation is one of the biggest sources of stress for teachers and is indicative of an undermining of teacher professional autonomy which must be stopped and reversed.
As we seek to break the link between pay and appraisal, classroom observation can play a part in forming a professional dialogue between colleagues, rather than diminishing their sense of professional agency.
For such a collegiate system to develop, observations must be limited, both in terms of frequency and length, and the time and focus of observations mutually agreed. The NEU position remains that observations should total a maximum of one per term, or three per year, of no longer than an hour in duration.
Learning walks and drop-ins
Learning walks can have a place in schools, but the parameters should be determined by members and the process should be a developmental and constructive, whole-school improvement activity.
There should be no attempt to use this approach as part of capability procedures or for appraisal.
A programme of learning walks should be agreed with teachers so that they know the date, time and focus of the learning walk, and who will be conducting it, so they can organise their classes accordingly.
Support staff
The Way Forward agreement of 2003 outlines that support staff with the following types of roles may be observed: higher level teaching assistants, cover supervisors, and teaching or learning support assistants.
Such observation can make a valuable contribution to professional development for staff in these roles. It is important that observers remember that support staff are not teachers and must not be assessed against the “Professional Standards for Teaching and Leadership (Wales)”.
There are no nationally agreed standards against which support staff can be judged, so observers should consider the duties being undertaken and the level of experience of the support staff being observed.
