A system of accountability based only on high-stakes graded lesson observations is a broken system. Observations don’t accurately and reliably measure the quality of teaching, nor do they measure the effectiveness of individual teachers. Instead, they create a climate of fear; teachers will tend to overplan, overteach and proffer showcase lessons that bear no relation to their everyday practice, or they become stressed and underperform.

Although I’m not suggesting that we stop observing lessons altogether, we need to triangulate what we see and hear in classrooms with other sources of information, not least our professional judgement. I favour a “balanced scorecard” approach - a means of aggregating a range of data - for a more accurate, fair and holistic picture of performance.

This is only part of the solution, however. The best systems of quality assurance and performance management lead to formative feedback that helps teachers to improve their practice. They do not merely draw lines in the sand, but provide a roadmap.

In fact, the best systems are not about performance management at all; rather, they are about performance improvement.

If feedback is to be effective, it must be based on sound and, more importantly, fair information. The observer should ensure their notes are short, simple observations of things seen, as opposed to subjective remarks about what they would have liked to have seen. Personal opinion should be left at the door.

It’s also important to remember to be polite, professional and friendly throughout. Even if a teacher’s performance is less than we desire, there is nothing to be gained by being confrontational or rude. As such, it’s worth contemplating the language we use: our choice of words cannot be in direct conflict with any judgement or outcome.

A useful word is “interesting”, because it doesn’t imply good or bad - a lesson can be interesting because it is wonderful or because observing it is like rubber-necking a car crash.

Feedback sessions should begin by thanking the teacher for allowing us to observe their lesson, reviewing the evidence of their marked work or engaging in whatever quality-assurance activity has led to the feedback. Our feedback should acknowledge that the observed lesson was a mere snapshot and not wholly representative of the teacher’s overall performance.

In the best feedback sessions, the teacher talks a lot more than the manager. Not only is this good practice because it encourages the teacher to reflect on their own performance, it also helps the manager avoid a difficult situation in which they have to impart bad news and invite argument. Here are some useful questions with which to start a feedback session:

• What went well? Which aspects of this performance are you most pleased with?
• If you were to teach this lesson again/mark this work again etc, what would you do differently and why?
• Can you describe students’ starting points and the level of progress they made in this sequence of lessons/with this project?
• Did all students make the progress you hoped they would? How do you know?

Having facilitated a discussion around these, we could ask the teacher to summarise their strengths and areas for development as they see them. If the teacher’s opinion is less favourable than our own, we will find ourselves in the enviable position of being able to impart positive, motivating news. If our opinions match, we can feel reassured that we’re in agreement. If the teacher’s opinion is more favourable than our own, we need to find out why by taking an analytical approach, probing into some specifics, for example, by asking about individual students and the progress they are making.

Don’t be rude

Hopefully, taking an analytical approach - keeping the discussion professional and focused on the facts, not on our own prejudices and preferences - will help the teacher to see that, on reflection, they have been too generous in their initial self-assessment and aspects of their performance can be improved.

If not, then firmness may be needed. Being firm and being rude are not synonymous, nor are being assertive and being aggressive the same.

Once the feedback has been concluded, move the meeting towards action. If the teacher’s performance is excellent, then the action might be to enlist the teacher to share their good practice, to help colleagues improve the quality of their teaching. Perhaps the teacher could lead a CPD session or film a part of their lesson and share the video with colleagues in a staff meeting.

If the performance has been less than desired, then the action might be to engage the teacher in CPD, perhaps observing a colleague and trying new approaches in their own classroom.

Whichever path is taken, it is important that we end the feedback session with a clear plan of action, complete with reasonable timescales and an agreed method for the teacher to report back on the progress that they are making against this plan.

Matt Bromley is an education journalist, author, consultant and trainer. He tweets @mj_bromley