Which comes first, compliance or quality?
A key aspect of recent reports focuses on quality assurance, highlighting a continuing area for improvement. A QA focus may likely continue into the new framework. We know that for many, good QA is a problem, but what does good and effective quality assurance look like? This extract from a report effectively illustrates the point. Leaders carry out a range of activities that focus on compliance such as checking for completion of reviews and marking of work but do not assess its quality.
Every reader will assure us they have a good QA process in place, and of course, many have; however, is it about compliance or quality? Many readers are too young to remember the now politically incorrect TV sitcom, ‘Never mind the quality. Feel the
width’, set in a tailor’s shop. Are we in danger of focusing solely on compliance, at the risk of overlooking the quality that underlies it? It’s possible to comply, but the process may be flawed. Probably the most critical area for QA is the observations of teaching, learning and assessment. Do observers possess the pedagogic skills to develop teachers, trainers, and coaches? Is OTLA about compliance or quality?
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