Tuesday, 17th November

My three week stay at Bishop Luffa has given me the opportunity to know how this outstanding school works, but it has also proved to be an excellent way to perceive some of the striking contrasts of English educational system. Even though teachers are vocational, skilled and committed professionals, they are put under a lot of pressure. They are always busy, as there is always some marking or planning to do. Most of them told me that they are forced to work during their weekends, as this seems to be the only way they find to catch up with their tasks. The annual increase of their salary depends on how successful they are in achieving their prescribed goals. They are always afraid of the Ofted inspectors, which may show up with no notice at all, and of their most frightening reports, which may cause serious trouble to them or to their schools. The headmaster is also aware of the academic evolution of every student, and makes sure that all teachers work as hard as possible in order to motivate and engage them. This is particularly important in a learning environment focussed on pupils’ autonomy, but not effective enough in making students aware of their own personal responsibilities. Lazy irresponsible pupils receive extra support, as their poor results might produce a bad impression both for parents and inspectors. According to my personal point of view, this is not exactly the best way to promote their responsibility, which is an essential feature in their personal and academic development.

Nevertheless, there are also astonishingly surprising elements in Bishop Luffa school life. As it is an academy, this school receives its budget directly from the central government, rather than from local authorities. The school also has great academic freedom, as it can decide its own curriculum according to its own particular preferences. Actually, the current curricular design is being altered, and major changes may occur in the following future. A special staff meeting was held yesterday in order to launch a debate trying to find the best curricular design for the school. All teachers were invited to share their opinions and suggestions, in a quite democratic and open process which I found quite unusual, especially if we compare it with the typical decision-making procedures which are habitual in the Spanish schools I know. Teachers were sitting in groups, and they were asked to participate in a way that was strikingly similar to the working techniques that are commonly used with their pupils in their classroom activities. As an open debate would have been a too wide and confusing way to participate, teachers, working in teams, were encouraged to reflect on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the new curriculum design. This SWOT analysis is an excellent way to produce good results in a very short time, combining open participation and synthetic effectiveness. There are so many interesting things to be learnt about these teachers!