Not sure if it's just the news making a mountain of a molehill but apparently headteachers were up in arms at the idea of Ofsted inspections being unannounced.

Gove has apparently backtracked on it.

So what's the big deal about unannounced inspections?

What ? They are booked inspections ? I have always assumed it was like a proper check up done at random.

What the hell is the point then ?

At my secondary school in the mid 80s the teachers would often arrive late and badly dressed in th emorning, set us some reading (unsupervised piss about time) and sod off and make coffee, get sorted and return half an hour later to make sure we had not killed each other.

I thought the whole idea of inspectors was to inspect and see what the standards really were, not view some booked parade of acting.

st like this is why a lot of children are getting a bad education, even the crappest teacher can straighten up for a one day planned visit.

Should be random, totally random. I don't get told if VOSA are about to come to my yard and look at all my trucks, I don't get to book the health and safety visits or organise a VAT inspection so I keep it all as tip top as I can and hope that if I am making mistakes I can show I tried and can sort it out.

Yet another example of the cosseted existance of the teaching profession in modern Britain.

Might disrupt their school day not being able to plan around the distractions... However, even at my secondary school (which at the time was very good for a state comprehensive, headed by Sir John Rowling http://www.pixl.org.uk/_files/76D72F87F0ECC020D3D9... ) I remember special emphasis put on the days when ofsted were in town.

I have to say though, while their was some element of putting on a show, The day generally didn't feel any different to normal.

Michael Gove has been one of the few beams of competence in this Coalition in my view and he's taken the right decision to drop these proposals if that is indeed what he does. The current system turns up many failing schools as it is so its not like schools are currently able to hide their problems. I would imagine the main reason to oppose unannounced inspections is the sheer impracticality of it. All of the key people the inspectors want to meet need to be available for the inspection, its no good an inspector suddenly turning up as the headteacher has a meeting with someone else who's travelled a long way or as the school is about to leave on a field trip. Its just not practical.

Currently they get three days notice, what could they really do in three days? Radically alter teaching methods to improve student performance? Hardly. Its just three days for everybody to make room in their diaries. The most you could fix with three days notice involves a hoover and I'm sure inspectors arent stupid, they know schools have had notice and will portray its best face possible. They're trained to see through that and get answers.

Why can't inspections be unannounced?

Unions.

There are hundreds of professions that get spot checks with no notice, mine is one of them, so essentially it's ok to hassle us and not trust us but you can't touch schools ?

Fair point. You also have to consider theres plenty of schools now which share headteachers with other schools so the head honcho isnt always at the same school or easily accessable. What would be the point in turning up out of nowhere when the head teacher is at the other school?

It does seem strange that Teachers should yet again be excluded from practices that are normal in many other roles.

Much like the idea of pay differentials. There was a union rep on Any Questions today who said paying teachers different amounts would make running a school impossible. Every workplace I has been in has paid people different amounts according to ability and experience, why not teaching?

The answer to both of the above is that surprise inspections and pay differentials harm poor teachers, who the union insists on protecting at all costs. My sister has taught in two schools now and in both there have been incompeten teachers that are well paid and have been proving a crap education for decades. Without exception they have been very active in the respective union.

No, but you can hide the laziness + uselessness of the weaker teachers, without difficulty. I, as a student, have had teachers whose general lesson plan is "sit on laptop and tell students to read out book, shouting at any student ignorant enough to ask a question." then BAM, OFSTED inspect, the same teacher has a lesson plan, with engaging content, proper structure and question asking was encouraged. OFSTED go, back to business as usual, book work.

Without the warning, he would not have had a lesson plan, nor the printed worksheets, and he would have failed, giving them a clear understanding of his lessons.

All of which underlines the dilemma.

Inspect unannounced and see the natives in their natural state. But then also be prepared for the person ultimately responsible for poor performance not being there to face the music and face a personal grilling.

Maybe the resolution of this predicament is to have a minimum 2 day inspection, so the person who has ducked tackling weak performance might be out for day one but will be back in, or can be ordered back in, on day two.

Sure, Ofsted inspectors are only very rarely dummies, and turn up failing schools now...the question is, how many more would they detect? It's not all down to data.