Things I Wish Were Different About Teaching: Number 2 Less Spying By Senior Management

Teachers are under surveillance while they are at work, by various means, to an extent that amounts to voyeuristic spying. Management will ask students, scrutinise plans, set up excessive informal observations, pop into the classroom unannounced and go on ‘learning walks’ all with the sole purpose of trying to catch teachers out.

I can understand managers wanting to know exactly what goes on, but does it have to be so underhand? And so excessive? New builds are designed with windows into the classrooms everywhere. It begs the question: what exactly do management think we are doing when they are not looking?

I think part of the problem is that managers always seem to find something to pick at no matter what kind of lesson they walk into. I was surprised during a lesson once only to be called into the office later on and have my posture criticised. What relevance did that really have to teaching, learning and my performance on the job?

It just creates an atmosphere of paranoia, and it leaves teachers wide open to misinterpretation of their performance. So much of that sort of evidence is down to chance and what you see once only and at a certain time and place. 

Cases can be built up on teachers based on manager’s opinions of what they saw while spying. This is despite excellent achievement rates from their students.  


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