Principal Quality Improvement. If agreement is not reached, then a further observation will take place by an independent observer the outcome of which is final. Are we required to change to an LCC standard Scheme of Work and Session Plan? College templates for a Scheme of Work and a Session Plan have been included in the Practitioner’s guidance documentation, together with exemplars which have been developed to mirror Ofsted’s outcomes for observation of learning, teaching and assessment. These templates are the College standard and will help to structure your sessions. They also provide useful evidence of well-planned learning, teaching and assessment. I plan my scheme of work on a half-termly, not yearly basis? Will I be penalised for this? Not if you have a valid reason for doing so. Give a rationale as to why you plan in this way (the need for flexibility and negotiation with certain course content and types of learners, for example) to the Observer. Ofsted have commented that they look favourably on schemes of work which are clearly ‘working documents’ – which have amendments and comments on – in preference to those which are pristine, and clearly produced for show in an observation. Can I give the learners’ personalised learning plans to the Observer? Yes. Include any and all documentation and other evidence that you think will help the Observer to get an accurate and comprehensive view of your provision and learners. Will the Observer talk to the learners during the observed session? Observers may talk to learners and look at their work during the observation. They will do this as unobtrusively as possible in order not to disrupt the session. Could ANY of my sessions be observed? Any of your contact sessions with learners could be observed under OLTA, including off-site visits. What should I do if I am planning independent study for some learners so they will not be present during the observation? If for some reason all learners are not going to be present during the session observation, then it must be clearly explained to the observer with the reasons for this. Your planning should make clear the learning outcomes / success criteria for those learners not present and how their learning will be checked. If I need to have a re-observation, what will I be observed on? Does it relate to action points or the session as a whole? They might not always be totally congruent. The entire session will be observed, with as far as possible specific reference to the areas for improvement and actions from the previous observation.
Principal Quality Improvement. If agreement is not reached, then a further observation will take place by an independent observer the outcome of which is final. Are we required to change to an LCC standard Scheme of Work and Session Plan? College templates for a Scheme of Work and a Session Plan have been included in the Practitioner’s guidance documentation, together with exemplars which have been developed to mirror Ofsted’s outcomes for observation of learning, teaching and assessment. These templates are the College standard and will help to structure your sessions. They also provide useful evidence of well-planned learning, teaching and assessment. I plan my scheme of work on a half-termly, not yearly basis? Will I be penalised for this? Not if you have a valid reason for doing so. Give a rationale as to why you plan in this way (the need for flexibility and negotiation with certain course content and types of learners, for example) to the Observer. Ofsted have commented that they look favourably on schemes of work which are clearly ‘working documents’ – which have amendments and comments on – in preference to those which are pristine, and clearly produced for show in an observation. Can I give the learners’ personalised learning plans to the Observer? Yes. Include any and all documentation and other evidence that you think will help the Observer to get an accurate and comprehensive view of your provision and learners. Will the Observer talk to the learners during the observed session? Observers may talk to learners and look at their work during the observation. They will do this as unobtrusively as possible in order not to disrupt the session. Could ANY of my sessions be observed? Any of your contact sessions with learners could be observed under OLTA, including off-site visits. What should I do if I am planning independent study for some learners so they will not be present during the observation? If for some reason all learners are not going to be present during the session observation, then it must be clearly explained to the observer with the reasons for this. Your planning should make clear the learning outcomes / success criteria for those learners not present and how their learning will be checked. If I need to have a re-observation, what will I be observed on? Does it relate to action points or the session as a whole? They might not always be totally congruent. The entire session will be observed, with as far as possible specific reference to the areas for improvement and actions from the previous observation.
frequently-asked-questions-vers-1-0.docx