Qualified Teachers

Much has been written on whether only qualified teachers should be allowed to teach in free schools. In the state sector, only teachers with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are permitted to teach in schools. In the independent sector this is not the case. So which is the right approach?

I have always believed that good teaching is all about the personality of the teacher. Yes, it is essential that teachers have the appropriate subject knowledge but if they are unable to transmit that to their pupils, they are going to struggle. 

What is required is passion and enthusiasm for the subject and a desire to engender that enthusiasm in the pupils that you teach. A good teacher encourages their pupils to be involved in the learning process and to get excited about learning new things. Teacher training does not guarantee this. Teacher training can help hone skills but it cannot turn a boring teacher into an inspiring one.

At Sunningdale we look for the right people, whether or not they have. Most of the staff do have QTS when they join but in the last few years we have put a number of members of staff through teacher training while they have been with us and it has been hugely successful. 

I would encourage the government to leave the decision down to individual heads. No headmaster or headmistress wants a poor teacher on their staff so they are not going to employ just anyone. They should, though, have the freedom to find the best people for the job.

Private tutoring

There has been a lot of debate in the press about private tutoring. I thought it might be an idea to make Sunningdale's position clear.

There is no doubt that over the last few years there has been a significant rise in the amount of  pupils receiving private tutoring. There has also been a significant increase in the cost of such tutoring.

Tutoring can be a very successful way of supporting a child who is struggling to grasp a particular topic or a particular subject. It certainly has its place and one to one tuition can make a difference.

The problem occurs when tutors are asked to hothouse pupils to get them in to certain schools. I don't see how this can be a good idea. What matters is that pupils attend the right schools for them, not the schools that certain parents feel have the right name. 

If a child can only get into a school with the help of a tutor then they will need the support of a tutor to remain at that school. If this is the case, they will miss out on so much of what the school has to offer. Children go to independent schools for more than just the academic side of life and if they are spending hours with tutors then there is little point in them being there in the first place.

So my thoughts are simple. Use tutoring wisely but overuse it at your child's peril.

Dangers of advertising

Today's telegraph has a very interesting article on advertising to under eleven year-olds.

Ban advertising aimed at primary school children

I think that this is so valid. Today's children are too obsessed with possessions and there is so much competition to have the latest gadget, wear clothes with the 'right' brand names and go on holiday to the smartest places. 

It is so sad that children need to be thinking like that so young. We should be providing memorable experiences for them, not disposable gadgets that will be long forgotten when they look back on their formative years.

This is one of the reasons that we do not allow all these things at Sunningdale. We want them to have the chance to have proper childhoods, we do not want them to be subject to peer pressure and we want them to develop lasting friendships and have enduring memories.

Letter Writing - a lost art?

One of the things that we still do at Sunningdale is to ask the boys to write letters home on a Sunday morning. I think that this is such a valuable thing to be doing because people are writing far fewer leters than they used to. 

Communication is now so easy with mobile phones, email, Skype etc. This means that there is far less reason to write a letter which is a huge shame. We have letters from some of the greatest figures in history and they provide such a rich insight into life in previous eras. Some of the greatest romances can be remembered through published letters. I remember writing childish letters to girls I liked with SWALK on the back! Now communication is by email or, even worse, text message. 

I think that parents love to receive letters from their sons. My mother has kept the ones I sent home from school. I also know that the boys here love receiving letters. I also remember very clearly being handed a list by my father to write down presents I received at birthdays or Christmas and my parents checked that I had written the letters. If we spend Christmas with my parents now we still get a list and a pencil!!

The art of writing a letter, and addressing an envelope properly is high on the agenda here at Sunningdale and that is how I believe it should be.

Football

Really proud of the 1st XI today. They played really well. 2-2 wasn't
a true reflection on the game. They dominated throughout, particularly
during the 2nd half.

The U9 teams continued their excellent run with an 8-0 and a 1-0 win.

Sent from my iPhone

Long Leave

The first half of term has flown by and I cannot believe that Long Leave begins on Friday. It seem like only yesterday that term started. We have all been so incredibly busy.

Last Thursday, the Sunningdale / Summer Fields meeting took place and it was a huge success. The speakers, Stephen Robinson and Rawle Beckles, were excellent and certainly thought-provoking and we have received some excellent letters from those who attended. It is such a good thing for us to be doing at Sunningdale and I so enjoyed hosting it in the new Army Hut Theatre which looked amazing.

Just another normal night in the dorms?!