The Official bad teachers, bosses, colleges thread! (or why im screwed)

[marshlander]

Stephen,

I said I would get back to you when the government department responsible for colleges replied to my enquiry. As I suspected, each college should have a complaints procedure. You should be able to go to the student services office and ask for a complaints form. Filling that out and submitting it will set in place a formal procedure. If you are still not satisfied when this process comes to a conclusion only then you are able to take your complaint to the Learning and Skills Council.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

marshlander

Reply from The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills:

"Thank you for your email of 16 March, addressed to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills' (DIUS) Information mailbox, about teaching standards in post 16 education. On this occasion I have been asked to reply.

Firstly, I acknowledge the concerns expressed to you by the young person in question. I would assure you that the Government is committed to ensuring high quality teaching and learning in the post 16 education sector. All new teachers in state funded Further Education (FE) colleges must already hold, or agree to work towards, professional qualifications endorsed by Lifelong Learning UK and this will apply to all teachers in the sector by 2010. This regulation came into effect from 2001. Full details of these requirements can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/teacher_quals_guide.

In addition, the FE White Paper ‘Improving Skills, Raising Life Chances’ (March 2006) makes a commitment to eliminate inadequate provision. DIUS is working with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Ofsted and Association of Colleges to develop a transparent approach to identifying inadequate provision and put mechanisms in place which allow swift and decisive action where underperformance is identified. Ofsted introduced a more targeted inspections programme in September 2007, which focuses on areas of greater need for those institutions which are failing, or which are satisfactory but not improving.

At the same time the Quality Improvement Agency continues to provide targeted support where colleges have been issued with Notices to Improve by the LSC, following inspections where they have been deemed “underperforming”. Ultimately the LSC can withdraw funding where adequate improvement is not made.

However, I should point out that FE colleges are independent bodies responsible for their own procedures and policies. It may help you to know that colleges are required to have their own formal complaints procedures, which students should follow if they are unhappy with the service that has been provided by the college. Student Services at the college in question should be able to provide a complaints form. If a college complaints procedure has run its course, and a student disagrees with the decision, then the LSC has a complaints procedure which may be appropriate. For more information about the LSC’s complaints procedure please contact the appropriate local LSC office. A post code search facility is available on the LSC website www.lsc.gov.uk/aboutus/contactus to help identify which local LSC office is responsible for the funding of specific colleges. Alternatively, the national LSC can be contacted by telephone on 0870 900 6800 or by email at [email protected]. More information about the LSC's complaints procedure is also available at www.lsc.gov.uk/Complaints_Procedure.htm

The LSC will only review a learner complaint in order to ensure a college has followed the correct procedures. It is not in a position to overrule a decision made by a college following a learner complaint, but may ask a college to reconsider an earlier decision.

I hope this information is helpful."

[Serfdom]

At the end of the day, his job is to teach you what you need to know to not only pass the exam but also (hopefully) develop an appreciation of the subject; and it sounds to me like he's done neither, preferring instead to shore up his own ego by making his class of students think he is "cool". There is nothing an insecure teacher likes more than to think his students like him on a personal basis as so to look over his failings at his job.

I feel strongly that he should be reported for his and your own sakes. He is potentially undermining the academic achievement of his students and in doing so not getting the help he needs to be a good teacher. Perhaps, given he's been teaching for 30 years he feels he no longer needs to try and make his subject interesting or relevant to the students. Regardless of his motivations, he should have some action taken 'against' him to help both him and his students.

As someone who want to teach in higher education myself, I'm appalled and disgusted by his lack of professionalism. In a way, I find him rather pathetic; the whole "I took LSD during my driving test" bit is probably bollocks as I think hes trying to look "cool" but in doing so looking like a tosser instead.

If a class-wide complaint was lodged to the head of year or department then they could not ignore it.

For the sake of yourselves (and next years students who'l be potentially having him for a subject) I'd take some kind of action which ensured both the students and the school are protected from a teacher who I think could potentially need some retraining or maybe retiring.

Good luck!