ABSTRACT

In Chapter 6, leadership was discussed in relation to the expectations that Ofsted have when inspecting schools. Inspecting Schools: Handbook for Inspecting Primary and Nursery Schools (1999) makes it clear that: ‘the leadership and management are unlikely to be satisfactory if…there is a significant amount of unsatisfactory teaching’ (1999:94). This means that what happens in every classroom needs to be of the highest quality and it puts effective teaching and learning at the forefront of every headteacher's key objectives. Chapter 9 will examine some of Ofsted's criteria for successful teaching and there will, inevitably, be some overlap because this chapter is going to look at various ways of understanding what effective teaching is, how to promote it and how to monitor whether it is happening in every classroom. What is good teaching and how it is recognised will also be dependent on both the ethos of the school and the teaching and learning policy which was discussed at some length in Chapter 2. There are many lists of criteria for ‘good’ teaching and here are three of the most basic ways of looking at effective teaching characteristics. One of the simplest starting points is the six key skill areas which should be taught because they not only help learners improve their present learning but will enhance their future performance in education, work and life. These skills must exist in all primary schools because they are embedded in the National Curriculum and are described in detail in The National Curriculum Handbook (DfEE 1999). They include:

communication;

application of number;

information technology;

working with others;

improving own learning and performance;

problem solving.