Qualified
A question we're often asked at BSSP is - "are your staff native speakers?" It's understandable that people want their children to be taught by staff who have a fantastic grasp of the language they are teaching, both in terms of their grammar and accent, but the more pertinent question should be - "how well qualified are your teachers?"
We could be a school filled with each and every adult speaking perfect English, but just because a person speaks English, doesn't mean they have any idea how to teach it.
Our teachers at BSSP are qualified to teach the English National Curriculum. That's what they've trained to do. That's what they've done in the UK or in other overseas settings. It's what enables them to clearly understand the aims, goals and targets of the children in every subject they teach: English, maths, art, science, history, geography, design and technology, PE.
This is a rigorous process. A teacher in the UK has to undergo tests in mathematics and English in order to be able to be accepted onto a Teaching course or a Post Graduate in teaching.
After that, they have to undergo months of both theoretical and practical classroom-based practise that enables them to hone their craft as a teacher and once that's over, the following stage is to undertake a year in the classroom in order to gain their qualified teacher status.
This isn't as simple as someone acquiring a visa, jumping on the next flight and all of a sudden they're a teacher. Do they know the expected end of year goals for your child? Do they know the next steps in order to help them achieve these goals?
This is a profession, a serious one that requires us, as a school, to select the correct people for the job based on their knowledge and qualifications, whether this is a class teacher, a Russian teacher or an instrumental teacher. If you can play an instrument, does that mean you can teach someone else the steps to do it so in a year's time they can take their examinations? Probably not. You can brush your teeth, it doesn't make you a dentist.
Once we have our teachers in place, the development of them and the school doesn't stop there. We can't claim to be a "World Leading School" if the work stops at the employment stage.
Observations from leaders and peers create conversations and help teachers think about their lessons. What could they do differently? Did everyone in that lesson achieve? What's the next step, to go forward or to recap? Does their need to be problem-solving and application added to increase the skill? There's forever a myriad of components to consider to help the children achieve. This is not simple, it requires a 7.30 start and a 4.30 finish five days a week, with added hours on the weekend.
As well as observations, all our academic staff also undertake courses, whether this is on EAL learners, new behaviour management techniques, how to build phonic knowledge or new developments in reading or the PSHE curriculum. What will help gain that extra 1%? Never trust a person who tells you they're an expert, the best teachers are practitioners, forever contemplating on how to improve and maximise the effect they have inside and outside of the classroom.
Now, as we move towards the prospect of iGCSE's, our staff in the high school are all taking refresher courses to remind them about how coursework, syllabuses and the aims of different units in order to deliver the subjects successfully.
So, how well qualified are your teachers?
