Are you with me?

In April 2014, whilst in the grips of the reign of the now infamous Education Minister Mr Gove I wrote a blogpost 'Do We Need a Teaching Revolution.' The original post can be found here

So nearly two years on where are we? What's new in the hood that is Education? Are things better? 

Well things have changed - 

• Gove is gone! Replaced, but sadly not history, his legacy survives in the much talked about 2014 National Curriculum. 

• Ofsted have changed the way schools and in particular teaching is judged. The focus is not just on the lesson, it is now about the learning, pupils behaviour, books, displays and professional dialogue. 

• Sats levels have gone replaced by a new system which is, it is said so much easier for parents to understand and relate to.

So it could seem that all is well, teachers are happy? Sadly this is not the case:

• It has been a chaotic year with lots of ups and downs. Schools trying to manage  a completely new curriculum with no extra budget to support the changes. 

• Devising a whole new method of reporting progress without levels has been both confusing and time consuming. 

• Education remains under constant scrutiny and high on the political agenda.

• Ofsted still exist and despite reassurances on their new procedures those in education know the judgment has on the whole been made via Raiseonline before the inspectors even set foot in the school. 

• Teachers are still leaving the profession in droves for a variety of reasons ranging from being overworked and under increasing pressure. 

• Those teachers who remain in the profession due to their passion for their job and dedication are exhausted and often demoralised. 

However, remain they do, but why? Teaching truly is a brilliant profession, a privilege. After all what could be more rewarding than a job that allows you to directly influence and have an impact upon the minds of children? 

So what happens now? How can we re energise our profession? What can we do to retain teachers? A lot of unanswered questions, non of which are easy to solve but we have to. We not only have a duty of care to our pupils but also a duty to our truly noble profession. As cheesy as it sounds we need to stand shoulder to shoulder and unite! Hands up if your with me!