The changes come into effect on 1 September 2012, and give a standardised legal framework for schools to work within, whilst also acknowledging the difference between individual schools and the way they run, giving them the flexibility to implement an appraisal policy that works on an individual basis.
The aim of the changes is to make the time required for classroom observations less prescriptive, and to use observation only when staff members within the school find it necessary - dependent on what is the most sensible course of action for the teacher being observed. Instead of relying heavily on observation, the new legislation requires each teacher to establish a set of goals and targets, which will be worked upon and monitored throughout the year. These goals will be assessed at an annual appraisal, and will form part of each year's written appraisal report.
The main change is the division between appraisals and capability procedures. Teachers are now not required to pass appraisals on to future employers - which should make the appraisal process much more well-rounded and functional. By removing the necessity to pass on appraisals to outside bodies, feedback from everyone involved is likely to be much more honest, in depth and constructive. Any disciplinary process relating to performance management will be separated from appraisals, becoming part of a 'capability procedure' instead, made available to future employers on request.
Secondly, each school is now required to put together and adhere to an individual performance management policy. This policy must incorporate an annual appraisal culminating in a written report for each member of staff. Individual teachers must also have a set of goals and targets from which to work throughout the academic year. These goals and targets are decided on the basis of the outcome of their annual appraisal, and must contribute to improving the education of pupils.
According to the official guidelines (www.education.gov.uk): 'Most of the prescription in the current guidelines will disappear [and schools…] will also be free to decide many other matters on which they currently have no flexibility'.
Although many schools previously had some sort of appraisal policy in place, the Ofsted report into performance management of teachers concluded:'The system was functioning below its full potential so that appraisal was not contributing as much as it should to raising pupils' standards of achievement and to improving teachers' levels of performance'.
With new flexibility in the implementation of Performance Management, and using the system as something that augments and works within the school, rather than for use by outside bodies, there seems to be an opportunity for schools to adopt a more effective and user-friendly approach to annual appraisals, in the form of 360-degree feedback.
As well as being a system that is easily tailored to the needs of individual teachers and schools, 360-degree feedback is thorough, giving a more in depth and clear picture of the individual's performance, rather than simply relying on one source. It is also an approach that promotes equality and accuracy in performance management in a way that traditional appraisals did not.
The 360-degree feedback takes into account not just feedback from an individual and their manager, but also from colleagues, department heads, and even pupils, depending on which approach fits each staff member best.
A report by the ASCL, ATL, NAHT & NUT (available online) stated appraisals should be 'a thorough yet supportive developmental process [and discussions should be] honest and open between appraiser and appraisee'. Also 'objectives should be set following consultation with teachers'.
By involving teachers in the process rather than taking a 'top-down' prescriptive approach, teachers are more involved and positive about the appraisal process, which means appraisals are much more likely to encourage and support progress and improvement.
Also, when set up properly, this approach is a very cost-effective and efficient way of monitoring a teachers' progress without taking up time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere. By setting each teacher goals based on their initial appraisal report, targets become focussed and much easier to understand.
This means that goals can be tracked throughout the year, and on-going improvement, as well as any problems that may arise, are recognisable much more quickly. Not only does this make progress more likely, but it also means, appraisals are much more focussed and efficient the following year.
With a well-designed performance management system that incorporates annual 360-degree appraisals and the addition of individualised goal setting that is focussed on throughout the year, set up is easy, and the on-going monitoring of progress is both simple and makes future appraisals much more focussed and rewarding, not to mention efficient.
A previously negative attitude to HR in academic professions seems to have led to schools missing out on what could be a valuable and easy to implement approach which could really help improve schooling.
Iain Rhodes, MD at Carbon360
Shelling of southern Syrian city kills 15 - CBC
Syrian troops shelled the southern city of Daraa early on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, activists said. And in Damascus, residents spoke about a night of shooting and explosions in the worst violence Syria's capital has seen since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began 15 months ago.
The latest escalations in different parts of Syria are another blow to international envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, which aims to end the country's bloodletting. Annan brokered a cease-fire that went into effect on April 12 but has since been violated hundreds of times and never properly took hold.
The UN said several weeks ago that at least 9,000 people have been killed since the crisis began in March last year while Syrian activists say the violence has claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people.
Damascus resident and activist Maath al-Shami said clashes between rebels and troops in the city's neighbourhoods of Qaboun and Barzeh lasted until about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Fighting intensifies in Syrian capital
On Friday, government troops clashed with rebels from the Free Syrian Army in Damascus' Kfar Souseh district in some of the worst fighting yet in the capital. The clashes were a clear sign that the ragtag group has succeeded in taking its fight to the regime's base of power.
Since the start of the uprising, Damascus had been relatively quiet compared with other Syrian cities. The capital and the northern city of Aleppo, the country's largest, are under the firm grip of Assad's security forces.
"Yesterday was a turning point in the conflict," said al-Shami via Skype. "There were clashes in Damascus that lasted hours. The battle is in Damascus now."
Al-Shami added that troops shelled Qaboun and Barzeh with tanks until after midnight Friday adding that at least four people were killed. Al-Shami added that tanks withdrew before sunrise Saturday and the area has been relatively quiet.
'Yesterday was a turning point in the conflict. There were clashes in Damascus that lasted hours. The battle is in Damascus now.'—Damascus resident and activist Maath al-Shami
Another resident in the capital, who refused to be identified for fear of reprisals, said "we spent a night of fear." The resident added that the shooting and explosions in the capital "were the worst so far."
To the south, in Daraa, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17 people were killed in the shelling, while the Local Coordination Committees said 15 civilians lost their lives. Both groups said dozens of people were also wounded in the shelling early Saturday.
Daraa is the city where the uprising against Assad's regime first erupted in March 2011. A Daraa-based activist, Adel al-Omari, said the shelling of the city's Mahata area began randomly and lasted until after midnight.
"People were taken by surprise while in their homes," said al-Omari, adding that regime targeted the neighbourhood with mortars.
The LCC said that the dead included a father and his two children of the Abazeid family whose home was destroyed by the shelling. The group added that five of the dead were members of the Daloua family.
The LCC and the Observatory also reported shelling and clashes in the central city of Homs, one of the main battlegrounds of the uprising.
On Friday, UN observers entered a farming helmet in the central province of Hama where activists said nearly 80 people were massacred on Wednesday. A UN spokeswoman said the observers could smell the stench of burned corpses and saw body parts scattered around the deserted village of Mazraat al-Qubair.
The observers were blocked by government troops and residents, and coming under small arms fire when they tried to enter the area on Thursday.
The scene held evidence of a "horrific crime," said UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh.
The UN team was the first independent group to arrive in Mazraat al-Qubair, a village of about 160 people. Opposition activists and Syrian government officials blamed each other for the killings and differed about the number of dead.
Activists said that up to 78 people, including women and children, were shot, hacked and burned to death, saying pro-government militiamen known as "shabiha" were responsible. A government statement on the state-run news agency SANA said "an armed terrorist group" killed nine women and children before Hama authorities were called and killed the attackers.
Ghosheh, the UN observers' spokeswoman, said the residents' accounts of the mass killing were "conflicting," and that they needed to cross check the names of the missing and dead with those supplied by nearby villagers. Mazraat al-Qubair itself was "empty of the local inhabitants," she said.
Hindutva organizations were don’t get justice in Kerala - CNN
San Jose SaberCats rout Orlando Predators 51-34 - San Jose Mercury News
Joe Sykes barely noticed that he'd broken the SaberCats' single-season record for sacks Friday night in the SaberCats' 51-34 win over the Orlando Predators at HP Pavilion.
"I haven't really looked into it," the defensive lineman said. "I just wanted to go out and get that win."
Sykes was a big reason the SaberCats got it. Not only did he record two sacks — bringing his Arena Football League-leading total to 13 and breaking the Cats' franchise mark of 12, set by Sam Hernandez in 2000 — he also returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Sykes, who has three sacks in the past two games after going four straight without one, now needs just three more to break the AFL's single-season record of 15½, which current SaberCat Gabe Nyenhuis set with Tulsa in 2010.
"Joe's ballin' right now," wide receiver/defensive back Huey Whittaker said. "That's about all I can say about that. Just let him go do what he does, and he'll make plays for you."
Friday's win was an important one for the SaberCats (9-4). Not only did they get back on a winning track after last Saturday's 81-68 loss at Milwaukee, they remained hot on first-place Arizona's heels in the race for the West Division title. San Jose trails the Rattlers, who play Iowa on Saturday, by a half-game in the division standings.
The victory was also important for the Cats' defense, which had given up 70 points in four of its previous five
games."They were rushing and getting after that QB," SaberCats coach Darren Arbet said. "The (defensive backs) had a hard week of practice. They took it personal, what's been happening the last few games."
Whittaker made his share of plays on both sides of the ball Friday night. On offense, Whittaker had his second straight 100-yard receiving game, catching eight passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that came in the second quarter, when he caught seven passes for 111 yards and scored two TDs — one rushing, one receiving.
On defense, Whittaker recovered a fumble at San Jose's 2-yard line near the end of the third quarter. The turnover was the SaberCats' third of the quarter, and it all but ensured that the
Predators (1-11) would finish the period without a touchdown.
"Huey's a real good player," Arbet said. "We knew that coming in, which is why we went and got him. He's a big-body guy who can play a lot of positions."
Quarterback Mark Grieb completed 20 of 30 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns for the SaberCats. Receiver Samora Goodson had five catches for 90 yards and two TDs.
After taking a 31-27 lead at halftime thanks to kicker Nich Pertuit's first field goal of the season — a 40-yarder as the half expired — the SaberCats took control in the third quarter. The SaberCats snuffed out three Orlando scoring drives with turnovers in holding the Predators scoreless for the period and only yielded one TD the rest of the game.
The first turnover was the interception that Sykes returned for a touchdown. After the Predators had rallied from third-and-24 at their own 1-yard line to advance the ball deep into SaberCats territory, Sykes snared the ball near the right boards, found an opening and rumbled up the sideline to help widen the Cats' lead to 45-27.
"I just didn't want to go out of bounds," Sykes said. "The rest of the defense blocked their butts off for me, and I just ran it in."
Defensive back Brandon Brinkley, who began his second stint of the season with the SaberCats on Friday after being released by Chicago earlier in the week, got the next turnover when he recovered a fumble in Orlando territory. The SaberCats, however, failed to capitalize as Predators defensive back Simeon Castille intercepted a pass in the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.
Whittaker got the third turnover when he recovered a fumble forced by Nyenhuis at the SaberCats' 2.
It was Nyenhuis' second big stop of the game. In the first quarter he prevented Orlando from scoring on the game's opening drive by bringing down Predators quarterback Chris Leak on a fourth-and-goal sneak from the 1.
Because Leak reached out and placed the ball directly on the goal line as he was taken down, the play was thus initially ruled a touchdown. However, Arbet challenged the call, and the TD was overturned after replays showed the ball never broke the plane of the end zone.
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