Nicky Morgan vows to ease
needless bureaucracy for teachers
A The education secretary has promised teachers she will tackle
unnecessary bureaucracy in schools by establishing working groups on marking,
lesson planning and pupil data, following years of complaints from those in the
profession.
B Nicky Morgan said she would ask the three committees to look at
the administrative burden faced by teachers and school leaders. She
suggested teachers could reduce workload simply by not answering emails
after 5pm. “Teachers and leaders have told us that much of the work they do
every day – such as marking, planning and tracking pupil progress – is
essential, but that it’s the volume, duplication, bureaucracy or detail that
can prove unnecessary or unproductive,” Morgan said. “So that’s why we’ll be
setting up new working groups to address the three biggest concerns that
teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and resources, and
data management.”
C Morgan warned that “there’s only so much that government can do
to reduce workload and that the real battle is about changing behaviour”. The
three working parties will look at schools that have developed effective
techniques without generating unnecessary workload, and recommend models for
other schools to follow. “I can say that the working parties will be made up of
frontline professionals who will look at these key areas and produce
real and concrete recommendations for the department, for schools and for heads
to minimize unnecessary workload,” Morgan said.
D In recent years teachers have complained about the adoption of
double and triple marking of student work as a means of giving feedback to
pupils, encouraged by Ofsted inspectors. Lesson planning is one of the most
time-consuming areas of preparation, according to many classroom teachers.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers,
said it was a key issue. “The workload challenge can be solved by more
intelligent accountability, better planning and fewer changes from
government,” Hobby said.
E In her speech, Morgan also made a further plea for retired
professionals to consider retraining as teachers, as unions and school
leaders warn of a recruitment crisis. “But I stand by that statement, because
just as I want dynamic young graduates to bring their energy into the
classroom, so too do I want those with years of experience in a range of
careers to bring their wealth of knowledge into the classroom as well. I
believe that those at the end of their careers have a huge amount to offer our
classrooms.”
Adjusted to (1)
tackle – poprat se
burden – břemeno, zátěž
accountability –
zodpovědnost
plea – žádost, prosba
1) Read the article and
match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Morgan wants to reduce workload
2 Morgan calls for help of retired teachers
3 Workload and Hobby’s recommendation
4 Bureaucracy in schools should be reduced
5 Morgan wants to establish three committees
2) Read the article and
answer the questions.
1 What is bureaucracy in schools?
2 Who is Nicky Morgan? What does she say about administrative
burden of teachers?
3 How does she want to solve the situation?
4 What do teachers complain about?
5 Why does Morgan call for retired professionals?
3) Explain the following
words and phrases.
1 reduce workload
2 marking, planning and tracking pupil progress
3 frontline professionals
4 lesson planning is one of the most time-consuming
5 consider retraining as teachers
4) Answer the following
questions.
What are
duties and responsibilities of a classroom teacher? What are duties and
responsibilities of a preschool teacher? What are their everyday activities?
Video:
Tips, sources of
information:
Source:
(1)
ADAMS, Richard. Nicky
Morgan vows to ease needless bureaucracy for teachers. The Guardian [online].
2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/
education/2015/jul/29/education-nicky-morgan-unnecessary-bureaucracy-teachers
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