ANTIQUES SHOPS

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

When Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference kicks off this week, there will be one big change from years past: No Steve Jobs.

But don't expect developers on hand to spend much conference time mourning the man who guided Apple's vision for so many years before passing away in October. Instead, they're focused on the future--and want to see where the company is going with its hardware and software. It's CEO Tim Cook who has their attention now.

"I think everybody will miss (Jobs)," said Craig Hockenberry, senior software engineer for The Iconfactory, which makes applications for iOS and Mac. "But I think we all feel the company leadership is more than up to the task at hand, [and] enjoy listening to Tim Cook speak--not as much as Steve Jobs, but there are going to be a lot of cool product announcements, and I look forward to hearing those."

Indeed, Hockenberry's comments were echoed by a half-dozen developers surveyed by Macworld in the runup to WWDC 2012. Each focused on possible product upgrades and simmering controversies about Apple's "sandboxing" requirements, dismissing any looming fallout from the company's transition to new leadership.

"As the quarterly statements show, that company is doing quite well," noted Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis.

Here's a quick overview of what developers hope expect to see at WWDC:

• An upgrade to the Mac Pro line: "My No. 1 wish is for Apple to finally update the Mac Pro with the fastest processors available, (as well as) Thunderbolt and USB 3," said Gus Mueller of Flying Meat Software.

Hockenberry agreed that the Mac Pro line is in need of sprucing up. "I've got two of them sitting in the office, and they're huge," he said. I think developers like the horsepower of a Mac Pro, but not the size of a Mac Pro."

Other Mac lines may also see some updates. "There's been a lot of speculation about portables and laptops that are due for a refresh," said Rich Siegel of Bare Bones Software.

• A firm launch date for Mountain Lion: Developers have had their hands on previews of Apple's latest version of Mac OS X since February. And the developers we spoke to say they believe the software is ready to go public.

"It will be soon," Siegel said of Mountain Lion's release date. "Not before the end of June, but probably not much after."

In a related development, some updated Macs might come with Retina displays--the high-definition screens have been available only on iOS hardware so far. "Mountain Lion seems ready for that," Hockenberry said. "We'll see some hardware that takes advantage of the Retina displays."

• A preview of iOS 6: Don't expect this to hit the market until Apple releases a new iPhone, probably later this summer. But developers hope to get a peek at the upgraded software--and they especially want to see how Apple changes two related features--Siri and Maps.

Developers said they hope Siri, the iPhone's voice-activated digital assistant, emerges from beta--and becomes available for third-party developers to incorporate into their offerings. But they also expect that Siri may advance in baby steps.

"I'd think there will probably some (Siri) support added in iOS 6 but I'd bet that they'll be pretty restricted," said Guy English, a Montreal-based developer. "A full API for Siri is incredibly complicated on many levels and would involve extending the operating system in really big ways."

As far as Maps, it's been widely reported that Apple plans to bring the feature in-house instead of relying on rival Google for geographic data. "We have been waiting for some time to see what Apple will do with its various mapping acquisitions, so it will be interesting to see if we get some good news on that front," said Daniel Jalkut, the founder of Red Sweater Software.

• More discussion of sandboxing: Apple's deadline for sandboxing offerings in the Mac App Store arrived at the beginning of this month, and some developers are still grumbling about the development, saying it reduces the functionality of their apps. They expect it to be a hot topic at WWDC.

"I expect that there will be a lot of discussions around how to resolve the inherent clash between strict sandboxing and the powerful feature sets and automation that Mac users have come to expect from their products," Siegel said.

Other developers don't expect the conversation to get far, however.

"I'm not expecting any surprises there," Hockenberry said. "Apple doesn't want to piss off developers--if you start changing the rules for sandboxing now, you'll piss off a lot of developers. A lot of developers have worked hard to get their apps in the sandbox."

Kafasis, though, was hopeful--pointing out that Apple isn't sandboxing its own apps.

"If nothing else, I hope to see Apple dealing with sandboxing too," he said. "Perhaps when they have to deal with it, they'll better understand the issues."

The developers agreed on one thing: As usual, speculation about Apple's moves might end up completely wrong once the conference gets rolling. "I'm expecting a whole lot of rumor sites to be wrong, and many of them to claim that their sources were right but that something changed at the last second," Kafasis said. "You really can't go wrong with that bet."

That's part of the charm, Hockeberry said.

"I'm sure there will be some other surprises," he said. "It wouldn't be a developer's conference without it--that's why we love going."

WWDC kicks off in San Francisco on Monday, June 11 with a 10 a.m. PT keynote.