i
e
uid
AG
to
INSTED
i
A Guide to INSTED
I
n an age of inspections and targets, it might
seem strange for schools to add to the already
immense pressure these create especially when
those creating the extra pressure are students.
However, Insted must not be seen as a way of
further examining teachers and schools, but rather
as an aid to them. Insted, unlike other organisations
that inspect schools, is able to truly evaluate day
to day teaching and learning through observations
done by objective but non threatening students.
This publication aims to guide schools, of any age,
size and ability, in creating their own student led
evaluation scheme. It would be unlikely a school
which does not already have student observations
and staff support would be capable of instantly
introducing a scheme as developed as Insted.
Therefore, this publication should be seen as
a loose guide to the scheme implemented at
Beauchamp College.
Page 3
i
7
11
15
21
23
27
A Guide to INSTED
BACKGROUND
TRAINING
OBSERVATION
INSTED
FEEDBACK
FUTURE
i
A Guide to INSTED
BACKGROUND
B
efore students were trained as lesson
observers, the process of internal
observation began with peer observations
conducted by teachers. The outcomes
of these observations proved to be immensely
beneficial to increasing the standard of teaching
and learning.
In 2006, it was decided that students should have
the opportunity of observing lessons and evaluating
their strengths. This decision was made after
several years of a hugely successful programme
of enhancing, enriching and increasing the quality
and impact of student voice in the college where
students had shown their ability to be actively
involved in developing the school.
The first programme for training student lesson
observers started with three one-hour sessions after
school led by Gill Greany, a trained Ofsted inspector
and teacher at Beauchamp. At the end of the three
sessions, eighteen students were trained and began
observing various lessons throughout the school.
The observations were structured using a criteria
sheet styled on the Ofsted evidence form. These
observations were then included in departmental
Page 7
teaching and learning folders.
After the first year proved to be so beneficial
to the students and the teachers, a second
year of students were trained. This time fiftyfive students were involved. In addition to the
observations that took place, a group of student
observers also evaluated the observation process
and fed back their findings to leadership and
staff.
The success of the first two years and the
growing popularity of the scheme meant that the
feedback process that began in 2007 developed
into the Insted scheme. Instead of just observing
lessons and giving feedback to that teacher,
Insted was set up to provide reports for every
department which evaluated their specific
strengths and areas for development, as well as
producing a whole school report.
The ethos of Insted is not to replace other
forms of observing and evaluating teaching
and learning, but to offer an alternative view of
lessons. As students have spent so much time
in school sitting in lessons, they naturally pick up
on what aspects make a lesson successful. In
addition they can also point to things which will
make those lessons even better.
Insted has shown that students often notice
different areas of learning which teachers may
not necessarily pick up on so quickly because
A Guide to INSTED
they are not so much on the receiving end! This
means that Insted works in harmony with other
forms of observation to give a more rounded view
of teaching and learning at Beauchamp.
Page 9
i
A Guide to INSTED
TRAINING
T
raining is one of the most important
aspects of Insted. Without proper training,
the results obtained from the observations
will be misleading. Furthermore, the lack
of training can lead to immature observers and
therefore the support from teachers may weaken.
However, with training, students can provide a
different insight into a lesson and give the teacher
a more accurate representation of how students
perceive their lessons.
Before students can attend the two after school
one-and-a-half hour training sessions, they must
be nominated by a subject teacher. This ensures
that only students the teachers believe are capable
of becoming observers are trained to become part
of the scheme. This is the first ‘buffer zone’ to
ensure the right students are involved. The second
‘buffer zone’ is created by holding the sessions
after school because only those students who are
prepared to give up their free time will be involved in
the scheme.
During the training sessions, students watch videos
of a variety of lessons and discuss in small groups
Page 11
the strengths of the lesson, as well as offering ways
of developing it. These ideas are then fed back to
the whole group. This allows students to develop
their own ideas with help from other students. It
is important that a variety of lessons are observed
to ensure that students are able to complete a
suitable observation in relation to the lesson.
For example, in a History lesson, the traditional
structure of a starter, main activity and plenary may
be the best way of teaching the lesson. However,
in an Art lesson, it may be more appropriate to
allow the students to work individually with less
defined lesson structure and teacher input. Student
observers need to understand that neither lesson is
more successful than the other based on the lesson
structure, but instead need to evaluate the lesson in
regards to how well the students are learning.
After completing the sessions, it is the responsibility
of the teacher leading the training to decide which
students have shown the capacity to continue as
student observers. At Beauchamp, a very small
minority are asked to not continue as observers
because they have not shown themselves to be
A Guide to INSTED
capable of completing an objective observation.
Although these students are not allowed to continue
as observers, it may be appropriate to invite them
to the following year’s training to see if further
sessions aid them in becoming observers.
We try very hard to make sure that lesson observers
represent the full ability and not just those at the
top end. Sometimes, having students as lesson
observers who have something of a reputation
as being disruptive in class can be a very useful
learning experience! In this way, the whole student
body will be more likely to be represented through
the scheme. Those who are less well behaved
may be able to offer a different perspective on a
lesson and therefore provide teachers with a more
thorough feedback that will help to improve the
standard of learning for all students in the school.
Alongside training new students to become
observers, refresher training is also provided for
students who have trained in previous years. This
ensures that all observers are able to produce
beneficial observations.
Page 13
i
A Guide to INSTED
OBSERVATION
T
he observation of a lesson is decided by
the teacher and the student to find a time
suitable for both. The teacher may also
find it appropriate to provide the student
with a lesson plan and a copy of any handouts the
students in the lesson will be given.
Although observations evaluate teaching and
learning, they do not evaluate specific teachers.
Therefore, during the observation, names of
teachers and students in the lesson are not
included. This not only aims to reduce the pressure
on teachers during the observation, but also allows
the results to remain a general reflection of the
school.
After the observation has been completed, the
student must give feedback to the teacher as soon
as possible. The feedback should contain examples
of strong aspects to the lesson with an explanation
of why they were strong, as well as offering targets
to develop the lesson further. In addition to a verbal
feedback from the observer, the teacher should also
be given a copy of the evidence form (see page 5)
to keep in their own records.
Page 15
The teacher in charge of training checks
the first three observations that a newly
trained student observer completes
before the student gives feedback to the
teacher. This ensures that the observation
has been carried out effectively and
objectively. This is the third ‘buffer zone’
to ensure that teachers are presented
with feedback that will allow them to
consider and reflect on what has been
observed.
A Guide to INSTED
Page 17
Beauchamp College - Teaching and Learning - Lesson Observation
EVIDENCE FORM
Date
Observation Time
Year group(s)
Present/NOR
Subject
Observer
Focus
Context
Evaluation
Summary of Main Points
Every Child Matters (Safe, Healthy, Enjoyment, Economic Wellbeing, Positive Contribution)
Action Plan/Targets
A Guide to INSTED
How good are learning and teaching?
Comments
To what extent do students:
Acquire or consolidate new knowledge
Acquire or consolidate new skills
Work at a challenging pace
Develop ideas
Increase understanding
Do the best of what they are capable
Demonstrate engagement, application & concentration
Develop the skills & capacity to work independently
Develop the skills & capacity to work collaboratively
Understand how well they are doing
Understand what they have to do to improve
To what extent do teachers:
Show good command of areas of learning & subjects
Plan effectively with clear learning objectives
Adopt suitable teaching strategies
Interest, encourage & engage students
Challenge students, expecting the most of them
Use methods that enable all students to learn effectively
Use resources that enable all students to learn effectively
Make effective use of time
Make effective use of teaching assistants & other support
Make effective use of resources
Insist on high standards of behaviour
Promote inclusion & equality of opportunity
Use homework appropriately & constructively
Assess students’ work thoroughly & constructively
Use assessment to inform planning & target-setting
Meet the needs of individual students in groups
Promote basic skills
Summary of main points
Page 19
i
The structure of the Insted team at Beauchamp:
Coordinator
Team Leaders
for every department in the school
100 lesson observers
A Guide to INSTED
INSTED
I
nsted was created to help improve teaching
and learning at the college. Although individual
teachers gained from the observations completed
of their lessons, it was felt departments and the
school as a whole could develop from them through
individual departmental and whole school reports.
To produce these reports, a team of student
observers was needed. Similar to the training of
observers, those interested in becoming part of
the core Insted team had to pass stages to ensure
they were capable of the extra work. The first
stage involved applying for a role within the team
by writing a letter explaining why the applicant
wanted to be involved in Insted and what qualities
they would bring to the post. At Beauchamp, there
are two main roles, co-ordinator and team leader.
Their main roles are to produce the final, whole
school report (co-ordinator) and the departmental
report (team leader). The second stage was to be
interviewed by members of leadership who decided
which applicant would be suitable to which role.
Page 21
i
A Guide to INSTED
FEEDBACK
T
he majority of feedback to staff and
students is done through two types of
report: departmental and whole school. Five
or six areas are focussed on which allows
for clear strengths and areas for development to be
highlighted and considered for the following year.
In the departmental report, specific feedback is
given for that department within the focused areas.
The evaluation is a result of the observations that
have been carried out in that department. It is
also useful to include copies of the observations
alongside the report. The departmental report
should also have a list of strengths and areas for
development specific to that department. This list
will aid teachers in developing the department over
the following year, as well as providing ideas for
new focus areas in future Insted evaluations.
The final report is similar to the departmental
reports except it is general to the whole school.
Therefore, the key areas should be evaluated,
as well as providing strengths and areas for
development for the whole school. It might also be
Page 23
A Guide to INSTED
beneficial to provide examples of good practice.
These are specific examples where departments
have excelled. Not only does it recognise teacher’s
hard work, but it also provides ideas for other
departments to develop to the same standard.
All teachers should receive a copy of their
departmental report and the final report. However, it
may be appropriate to give verbal feedback as well.
This allows any questions to be answered as well
as giving the students an opportunity to personally
feedback their evaluations. Ideally, every team
leader should feedback their departmental report
to the whole department. Furthermore, it may be
appropriate for the core Insted team to discuss the
final report and summarise the departmental reports
to leadership.
Page 25
i
‘If I have seen further
it is by standing on the
shoulders of giants’
Sir Isaac Newton,
1643-1727
A Guide to INSTED
FUTURE
T
he structure of Insted is flexible allowing
it to be developed in many directions
depending on the success of previous
reports and evaluations. It would be unlikely
a school which does not already have student
observations and staff support would be capable of
instantly introducing a scheme as fully developed
as Insted. However, the structure means schools of
any age, size and ability can adapt and adapt this
template to fit.
Giving students this much influence can be a
very daunting experience. However, schools not
only need to give students time to prove they are
capable of offering constructive views, but they also
need to listen to what students say and act upon it.
Only through showing students their work is valued
will Insted continue to develop and benefit schools
immensely.
We think it is time students saw further that what
has been seen by others by standing on the
shoulders of those great ideas teachers have
already put in place. We think it is time that the
student voice became just as important as the
teacher voice.
Page 27
beauchampcollege
Ridgeway Oadby Leicester LE2 5TP
www.beauchamp.org.uk