Phew!

I'm here! I have done no writing this week because Ofsted has been in school and the rule of Ofsted being in school is that you do NOT get to live any part of your normal life for the duration of their visit. You do not sleep, eat properly, get time to drink or pee. You DO get to feel paranoid, an ongoing sense of panic, like you might throw up in your classroom bin at any moment. And despite knowing ABSOLUTELY that you do a good job all the time, you suffer irrational feelings of inadequacy all the while they are in the building and you don't rest until you've had your lesson feedback and can feel assured that, come the last day of the inspection, you aren't going to be handed your P45 on signing out of school. 

(Actually, I am given to understand some education folk do not have these feelings. These folk are known as cocksure bastards who fart sunshine and are covered in silicon i.e nothing unsavoury sticks. I have met a few in my time. They generally get paid more than me for doing far less. Anyway, I digress...)

So, driving home Monday evening I was letting my mind wander over various lesson options. The weather was lovely and I had the car window open. I closed it as I approached Hinstock because there was a pungent 'poo de countryside' thing going on and I gave thanks once again that we didn't buy the house we looked at in Hinstock because there are a lot of 'poo de countryside' incidents there.  His Lordship Malarkey and I celebrated our two year anniversary at Damson Cottage this week, by the way - two years already! 

Anyway, suddenly I had a lesson plan epiphany involving a comparative study of  biscuits and the teaching of GCSE Assessment Objective 3 (or AO3 for those of us in teaching who live by abbreviations). On secondary observation day (Wednesday) I had 5 classes - a GCSE one, and four Key Stage 3, two of which contain bright bunnies whom I've already started doing GCSE with because they could, potentially, be entered a year early. You know, to give it a shot at least. My biscuit lesson, then, could be used for three of the five lessons (differentiated according to group/student ability) and the other two lessons would be covered by the novel 'Wonder' which I have just started reading with them anyway and naturally affords itself to all sorts of singing and dancing malarkey for Ofsted delectation. I was sorted! Aside from the four hours of planning that lay ahead of me that evening, of course. I stopped off at the supermarket, stocked up with biscuits and 'Lesson Plan Biscuit' was launched.

I shan't go into more detail other than to say my observation went spectacularly well and the feedback  from the inspector included the words 'Outstanding' and 'Inspired'. And at the debrief with senior management on the last day the inspector highlighted my 'Biscuit' lesson in the feedback. I am thrilled - with the way my students behaved and engaged with their lessons and how my risk taking paid off. I even allowed myself a small triumphant toot of my trumpet. I know one shouldn't allow oneself to get wound up by these things but I do. I can't help it. I am relieved it is all over. Until next time. 

(And I shall share with you here that, in a mildly militant way, for me at least, I refuse to mark in red pen, which is what we are directed to mark in. I mark in either lime green, purple, pink or turquoise. And do you know what? The inspector made no comment AT ALL about the colours of my marking pens. My marking, according to the feedback, was excellent. In your face, red pen marking!) 

So, normal life service is resumed. I am feeling shattered today - so I am in pottering mode. I pruned the roses this morning because they are in full blossom now and strutting their summer stuff. I even pruned the rose hedge on the front drive; you know, the gorgeous pink one that smells divine but is smothered in vicious bastard thorns. And this afternoon I am going to sit in the courtyard in the sunshine and sort through a mahoosive bin bag of wool that has come my way via a friend at work who has a flock of Jacob sheep. I've always wanted to have a go at processing raw wool. I don't know what I am going to do with it yet - spin it, card it, felt it -  but I do know it needs picking over to get rid of sheepy detritus, and then it needs washing. I have been reading up on it. I am fully in control of the wool processing situation. 

Ha ha!