Intervention

I suppose this would be my secret teacher article. But it isn't very secret!

Intervention is exhusting. I agree with everyone who says that if you teach it correctly the first time and concentrate on getting everything in place from year 7 then intervention is necessary, however I would say to them that in reality this isn't practical.

The change to the way that the practical aspect of the gcse science was examined has lead to a high degree of unexpected intervention, and the same will be true in 2015.

I work in an independent school and with long days the girls have "prep" periods where they can get on with their own work. Or alternatively seek me out to get support with revision or controlled assessment. This has resulted in me spending almost every moment between 8.30 and 5.45 (sometimes 6.30) with students.

I don't have the same issues that some schools and teachers do, my students do not have to be dragged to intervention sessions because they didn't engage the first time, they really want to improve. Either situation shows up the pressure to perform. My students put it on themselves, and in other schools the pressure is applied to the teachers who in turn apply it to the students.

Trying hard is not a bad thing, in fact it should be the default.

What do I want? Acknowledgement from government that the amount of work that teachers do is excessive. A lengthening of the time between changes so that I can get really good at making sure that my lessons and preparation of the students for examinations is as good as it can be instead of feeling the sand constantly move beneath my feet. And a controlled assessment that doesn't take 12 hours to complete. (6 weeks of teaching time for a single GCSE).