AS a relatively new principal to the English Schools Foundation (ESF), I am amazed at the tone of letters regarding the ESF.
Yet again on February 20, the teachers of ESF were given bad publicity.
To be effective in primary education requires learning and teaching of high quality and ESF teachers achieve this by evaluating their own practice in comparison with the features of effectiveness discussed at staff development and in-service training initiatives.
What is not apparent in the letter is the amount of time spent by teachers after school, evaluating and improving their practice.
In fact the largest proportion of the staff development programme takes place after school, almost every night of each week of the school year. What is also not written down is the time spent during Easter and summer holidays when ESF teachers are attending courses both in Hongkong and in the UK in order to enhance their professional skills and expertise. How many employees in Hongkong can give the same commitment to their craft? We have a very dedicated staff in ESF who work long hours planning and preparing for their pupils and who believe that the opportunities to review their practice by self-evaluation or by contact with others is crucial to their learning and the quality ofteaching they offer.
Her Majesty's Inspectors regularly visit ESF schools and the evidence from inspections is that high standards of learning and teaching are found in our schools, in which both long and short-term planning is thorough.