I’m confident our modern education system isn’t like my old car – a rusty Talbot Horizon

Last updated 11:23, Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Our first car was a white Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS, I bought it when it was four years old and was extremely proud of it.

It had all the latest gadgets like a rear screen wiper, head rests and a clock. No radio, but then I would entertain my wife by singing as we drove.

The problem was it was a complete heap of rubbish. Fairly soon after we got it, the nearside wing rusted through, the tappets went and changing gear felt like stirring porridge.

When you changed into third gear, unless you held the lever it used to jump back into neutral with often embarrassing consequences.

Now the main reason the car was of such poor quality was that it was made in a factory where the workforce had no quality assurance structures and no accountability.

They probably had little interest in their work on an assembly line and no reason to improve what they did.

Our present car is completely different – modern, reliable and of high quality.

It was made in a factory where quality assurance and checks are made on a regular basis. Performance-related pay and bonuses are also part of the culture which is aimed at ensuring customers get value for money.

Not too many years ago education operated in a similar way to the car industry of the late 1970s.

Twenty-five years ago when I began teaching we had no proper way of measuring the quality of what we did in classrooms, nor of how good the exam results of our pupils were.

A good lesson was often defined as one where the students were quiet and copied well out of the textbook.

Good exam results were where students got A grades and any thought of a bonus or performance-related pay would have caused apoplexy amongst most staff.

In the last 10 years the teaching profession has begun to move in a different direction and my view is that this is a very good thing.

Ofsted is now a regular part of school life, schools can expect a visit at least every three years.

Not only that, the real focus of Ofsted is to monitor or moderate the school’s own self evaluation – this means schools must constantly be monitoring the quality of what they do.

This monitoring takes a number of forms; lessons should be regularly observed using a very tight system to judge the quality of the learning that is taking place.

Teachers who do well are praised and those who perform less well need additional support and training.

The data we now use can tell us if students are performing above expectations or below expectations.

This means that for some students a C or a D grade is a very good grade for them based on their previous achievement.

If we use this data properly we can then give students extra support before it is too late.

The quality of leadership and management in schools is also assessed to ensure those in higher positions are doing their jobs properly and that they are being held to account for what they do and the learning climate they create.

I don’t think the teaching profession should be afraid of the logical next step which could be bonuses for those staff who perform well – it works well in other sectors of our economy so why not in education?

The reform we are bringing in will lead to an education system which we can all be proud of but most importantly will serve our young people well and prepare them for their role as future citizens in the 21st century.

n Mark Yearsley will become principal of the Richard Rose Central Academy from September