Teacher’s/Staff

Handbook
Policies, Code of Conduct,
Responsibilities & Benefits
Message from Director of Studies

Dear Teacher,

Welcome to The City School Network.

Education is perceived as a powerful agency, contributing directly in producing

the desired changes in the social and cultural lives of people. What is to be
noted is that the entire process of education is shaped and deeply influenced
by a person called the “teacher”. Teacher plays a pivotal role in any system of
education. It is said that great teachers help create great students. In fact,
research shows that an informed and inspiring teacher is the most important
school-related factor that influences student achievement.

You are joining a team of teachers committed to providing the highest quality
education from Playgroup to A-Levels. Our goal is to achieve heights of
academic excellence and impart quality education to our students who are then
able to successfully deal with challenges encountered later in life.

The following pages contain guidelines for our teachers in school. It is not an
attempt to foist regulations but an indication that we want these rules and
regulations fairly and consistently enforced. The next pages also unfold an
abundance of teaching strategies and framework to help and assist you in your
job.

We hope you will find our school environment warm and friendly, yet organized
and professional.

Sincerely,

The City School

Academics Department

1
 Our Vision

“Students and the student

experiences are at the heart of The
City School and this vision defines its
ambitions. Students deserve a high
quality education with an accessible
and innovative curriculum.”
Vision 2020

Our Mission Statement

Our Philosophy
Human Resource Development

Our Goal
Academic Excellence

Our Culture
Professionalism

Our Commitment
Total Satisfaction

2
Contents
Message from Director of Studies .......................................................... 1
THE CITY SCHOOL OVERVIEW ................................................................ 6
Code of Conduct ..................................................................................... 8
Workplace Basics Values, Principles, Practices ................................. 8
General Conduct............................................................................. 8
Relationship with Others ................................................................ 8
Clean Workplace ............................................................................ 8
Self-Appearance ............................................................................. 8
Smoking and Chewing .................................................................... 9
Drinks and Eatables ........................................................................ 9
Cell Phones ..................................................................................... 9
Home Telephone Number / Address ............................................. 9
Gifts and Privileges ......................................................................... 9
Confidentiality .............................................................................. 10
Staff/ Parents’ Complaints and Suggestions ............................... 11
Misconduct and Disciplinary Action ............................................ 11
POLICIES (Personnel) ............................................................................ 13
Attendance and Punctuality ............................................................. 13
Punctuality and Attendance ......................................................... 13
Sign-in and Sign-out ..................................................................... 13
Reporting Late Comings / Absence.............................................. 13
Three Late Arrivals ....................................................................... 13

3
 Casual Leave ................................................................................. 13
Annual Leave ................................................................................ 14
Maternity Leave ........................................................................... 14
Early Leave.................................................................................... 14
Strike/ Leave................................................................................. 14
Attendance at School Meetings................................................... 14
Employment...................................................................................... 15
Probation/ Confirmation ............................................................. 15
Periodic and Annual Evaluations ................................................. 15
Termination .................................................................................. 15
Resignation ................................................................................... 15
Unconfirmed Staff ........................................................................ 15
Retirement.................................................................................... 15
Vacation / Break Salary ................................................................ 16
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES............................................................ 17
Interactions with Students/ Maintaining Discipline ......................... 17
Zero Tolerance Policy: Termination if found guilty .......................... 20
Health and Safety Procedures ..................................................... 22
Maintenance of Attendance Register.......................................... 24
Meetings ....................................................................................... 25
Duties and Responsibilities of a Teacher..................................... 27
Duties and Responsibilities of a Class Teacher ........................... 30
School Soft Boards ....................................................................... 31

4
 School Assembly........................................................................... 32
BEGINNING THE SCHOOL YEAR............................................................ 35
Basics ................................................................................................ 35
First day of school ............................................................................. 36
SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS ....................................................................... 38
Lesson planning ................................................................................ 38
Home Learning .................................................................................. 46
Notebook Checking ...................................................................... 49
Assessments...................................................................................... 52
GROWTH AND BENEFITS ...................................................................... 53
Teachers Growth and Development ................................................. 53
Professional development relief ....................................................... 54
Staff-children school fee concession ................................................ 55
Provident fund .................................................................................. 56
Health insurance ............................................................................... 56
Employees old age benefit insurance (EOBI) .................................... 56
Transfers ........................................................................................... 57
EXTRA READING MATERIAL ................................................................. 57
Principles of Class Management ....................................................... 57
Classroom Organization .................................................................... 59
Attributes of a good teacher............................................................. 61
Classroom Factors That Affect Motivation ....................................... 63
Introducing Pace and Purpose into Your Lessons ............................. 66

5
 THE CITY SCHOOL OVERVIEW

Established in Karachi in 1978, the City School is today, one of the

largest private school networks in Pakistan with branches in all the
major cities across the country. It currently has 193 schools in 49
cities with over 65,000 students and 9,194 employees in Pakistan.
Abroad, TCS is currently operating schools in Oman, Dubai, and
Malaysia.

The City School continues to expand its reach to meet the

demands for quality education. The knowledge and skills-based
curriculum derived from the UK national curriculum, guides
students from Nursery Level to Cambridge International
Examinations Level for sixteen and eighteen years age group,
qualifying them for the IGCSE O Level, and A Level examinations.
The uniform implementation of the curriculum gives parents,
students, and teachers the advantage of a smooth and efficient
transfer from one school to another within the system. The City
School is a Microsoft certified school.

Curriculum and Academic Philosophy

Graduates from The City School secure positions in top

universities worldwide. Our students, according to Cambridge
International Examinations annual results analysis, are amongst
the highest achievers in their city, their country and, in some
cases, in the world. The curriculum encourages a student-
centered approach, where learners have an active role in their
learning process and develop the skills and abilities necessary to

6
make a significant contribution to society. Its particular strength
lies in the integration of digital media and ICT in an array of
learning programmes.

The City School offers more than 120 courses each year across the
age range and revises them in accordance with the cumulative
experience of its teachers and students. The selection of teachers
is based on their experience as curriculum developers and syllabus
writers. In addition, TCS regularly appoints curriculum consultants
from the UK to lead teams of The City School teachers in revising
the curriculum and syllabi. The City School curriculum and
methodology is designed specifically to ensure a smooth
transition in teaching and learning from the primary sector
through the middle years and on to the final two years of the
external standardized examinations’ syllabi.

Digital media and ICT in The City School Network is shaping the
methodology of delivering online education and adding efficiency,
convenience, interactivity and outreach to the array of learning
programmes offered. The City School has taken the initiative of
implementing a state-of-the-art Classroom/ Learning
Management System.

The City School promotes and encourages co-curricular activities

in all of its campuses. Students are encouraged to learn new skills,
take responsibility, assume leadership, work in team, organize
events, conduct programmes and experience real-life situations.

7
 Code of Conduct

Workplace Basics Values, Principles, Practices

General Conduct
TCS expect teachers to come to school every day and to make
teaching and learning an enjoyable experience. We place a high
value on the usage of proper language and polite interaction. We
count on teachers to be role models.
Relationship with Others
Teachers are expected to speak politely to their colleagues,
seniors and ancillary
(i.e. office and domestic) staff and parents. They should always
treat others with respect and consideration as individuals.
Teachers must be scrupulously fair to all students at all times.
Clean Workplace
TCS Teachers are expected to maintain a clean and
orderly classroom, and help in keeping the other school
areas clean.

Self-Appearance
As part of a professional team, teachers are expected to
present a clean and professional look. Remember, while in
school, teachers must represent themselves as positive
role models.

Female employees of the school should be dressed in conformity

with the religious, and cultural norms and values of our society.

8
Male employees of the school in winter months, should wear a
suit or trousers with jacket and a tie. In the summer months a
safari suit or a trouser and shirt with a tie are appropriate. On
Fridays, shalwar kamiz is allowed if worn with a waistcoat.

Smoking and Chewing

TCS believes in smoke free atmosphere and promotes a healthy
environment. In order to maintain that, smoking or the use of any
tobacco is prohibited on all TCS school premises.
Drinks and Eatables
Soft drinks and snacks are not allowed in the classrooms but are
allowed in staff rooms.
Cell Phones
Excessive cell phone usage hinders in efficiency of the teachers
and hence is discouraged by the organization. Cell phone usage is
strictly discouraged during teaching a class, school programs,
meetings or other events unless in case of emergency.

Home Telephone Number / Address

Telephone Number (Self, Home or any other emergency contact)
should be provided in the information forms filled at the time of
Hiring. Any change in residence address and telephone number
should be notified to the school authorities.
Gifts and Privileges
Teachers are not allowed to accept any gifts, benefit or privileges
from any parent, company or organization with whom TCS has any
association or dealings.

9
Confidentiality
Confidential information includes any information which an
employee acquires during his course of employment or by reason
of his being in employment with TCS;
Teachers are required to protect the confidentiality of their
students’ records.

It is expected of the teachers to maintain confidentiality and not

discuss student related issues publically.

As TCS employee, you may have access to confidential, protected

or privileged information. It is expected that the employees will
protect others’ rights to privacy by not releasing such information.

Employees should not divulge confidential information to any

unrelated person within or outside the place of work.

Under no circumstances, any source code, material, or

documents, may be passed on to any unauthorized person outside
or within the workplace.

Individual salary structures and employment terms and conditions

are confidential information and are not to be discussed amongst
colleagues or outsiders.
Each employee shall promptly report to the appropriate
immediate supervisor any attempt by outsiders to obtain
confidential information or any unauthorized use or disclosure of
the same by other employees.

10
Staff/ Parents’ Complaints and Suggestions
Suggestions and complaints are opportunities to fix the irritant or
error and raise the quality of the education process. If staff
members or parents have suggestions or complaints, write them
down and bring them to the Head’s attention as soon as possible.
Outside Business
Teachers will only work for The City School and not accept full or
part time positions with other organizations. Teachers shall not
give private tuition to TCS students or any other students, with or
without salary, without the prior written consent of The
Management.
School Property
School property and resources may be taken outside the premises
with the permission of the head and on obtaining a gate pass.
Misconduct and Disciplinary Action
Misconduct may be defined as behaviour which infringes the rules
or ethics of TCS, or has an adverse bearing on the environment
and reputation of the TCS. Disciplinary action including dismissal
from service can be taken in case of misconduct.
The following are some of the acts or omissions which will
constitute behaviour amounting to misconduct:

 Theft, fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation,

dishonesty, breach of confidence, breach of contract.
 Gross negligence in performance of duties; causing
damage to TCS property.

11
 Taking undue advantage from any parent or student of the
TCS.
 Disobedience or defiance of lawful orders.
 Providing private tuition and / or tutoring privately any
student of TCS without prior permission of the
Management.
 Behavior which offends sentiments or violates the social,
cultural, moral and religious norms; or creates
discontentment amongst staff, or is offensive to the
management.
 Habitual late coming or unauthorized absence from duty
 Behavior which brings TCS or its employees into disrepute.
 Indiscipline of any kind or infringement of school and
service rules or any act subversive to discipline.

12
 POLICIES (Personnel)
Policies are mentioned briefly only; for details see relevant HR manual

Attendance and Punctuality

Punctuality and Attendance
Regular attendance and punctuality are essential for satisfactory
job performance. It is imperative that all teachers observe school
timings.
Sign-in and Sign-out
Teachers will sign the incoming and outgoing time in the
attendance register or mark attendance on machines installed in
school.

Reporting Late Comings / Absence

Teacher should call and notify the school if absent or late due to
sudden illness or emergency. It is appropriate to call the school
and notify the Head personally as soon as possible. Reporting late
for duty will be marked late automatically in Attendance
Management system. If you are not able to reach school by the
prescribed time you will be marked absent.

Three Late Arrivals

Three late arrivals for duty in a month is treated as one casual
leave

Casual Leave
Confirmed staff is entitled to avail 10 casual leaves in a year.
Casual leave attached to a weekend or between two
holidays will be treated as continuous leave.

13
Annual Leave
Confirmed Administration staff is entitled to *one-month annual
leave in a year

 30days

 Summer Break
Teachers are entitled to scheduled summer and winter break.

Maternity Leave
A maximum of 5 weeks maternity leave with pay is allowed once
in three years and maximum twice during the whole service.
Vacations and holidays will be included in the maternity leave
period.
Maternity leave is given to confirmed employees only.
Early Leave
In School there is no facility for early or half-day leave except in
case of an emergency. All such leaves will be marked absent and
adjusted against casual leave entitlement.

Strike/ Leave
Teachers unable to report due to any kind of strike or political
unrest will be deemed absent unless the day is declared a holiday
by the school management or the government.
Attendance at School Meetings
Attendance at school meetings is compulsory for teachers. Some
meetings may occur after working hours, or on weekends.

14
Employment
Probation/ Confirmation
Newly hired teachers have a six month probationary period. If for
some reason, an employee is unable to complete the probationary
period satisfactorily, it may be extended. On successful
completion of the probation period, the services of the employee
are automatically confirmed.
Periodic and Annual Evaluations
The performance of all teachers is evaluated by the management
on regular basis. Every effort is made to help, counsel and train an
employee.

Termination
The school can terminate the services of a confirmed teacher by
giving 30 days’ notice in writing or 30 days’ basic salary in lieu of
the notice. No notice or salary is paid in case of misconduct.
Resignation
A confirmed employee can resign from service/terminate his/her
employment, by giving 30 day notice (“Notice Period”), in writing
to TCS, or 30 days basic salary in lieu of notice.
Unconfirmed Staff
No notice period is required for resignation or termination in case
of an unconfirmed staff member.
Retirement
The retirement age is 60 years.

15
However, female employees may opt for retirement at the age of
58.
Vacation / Break Salary
The following rules are applicable to teaching staff only.

If the length of service of a teacher is more than 12 months, on

the commencement of vacations, salary for the month of June
& July will be paid monthly in arrears.

If the length of service of a teacher is less than 12 months, on

the commencement of vacations, salary for the month of June
& July will be paid on teachers resuming duty after the
vacations as per scheduled mentioned below.

Teachers resuming duty after the vacation, who have 12

months’ of service on the commencement of the vacations, will
be paid the vacation salary in four instalments. Each instalment
will be attached to the salary of the months, following the
vacations, excluding the month when the school reopens, for
which the teachers will be paid in full. For example.

15 days salary of June will be paid with that of September

15 days salary of June will be paid with that of October
15 days salary of July will be paid with that of November
15 days salary of July will be paid with that of December
Full payment will be made for the month of August

16
 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Interactions with Students/ Maintaining Discipline

Providing a bright, safe place, in which a child’s physical well-being
is assured, the most important part of our job is to create an
atmosphere of unconditional love, support and respect.
Surrounded with such an atmosphere, children are likely to be
encouraged to participate fully in the many learning experiences
we provide, thus helping them to develop independence and self-
confidence. We consider such an environment the best possible
context in which a child can learn and develop a strong, positive
self-image. Children treated with love and respect get the
message that they are important.

 Tone of voice is the key to empowering: Be in close

proximity to the child and speak in a low tone when
redirecting him or her. Speak in a soft tone with a child.
Young children pay more attention to the tone than just
words. Body posture and facial expressions communicate
too – be warm, even when you are dealing with behaviour
that does not work.

 Never be physical or grab children: Skip ‘no’s’ and

‘don’ts’ and ‘should’. Humiliation, scare tactics or
corporal punishment is absolutely unacceptable. Snack
time and outdoor playtime may not be used to give
consequences for non- conformity of behaviours. Limits
and rules can be set with positive encouragement and
17
 acknowledgement. If you need help with removal of a
child, please ask the office for assistance.

 Frame everything positively with children: Use positive

guidance, redirection, it works best when encouragement
(‘you can do it … you did that well!’) is used. When making
a request, it is advisable to say, “Would you help us clean
up please?”

 Behaviour could be good or bad but the child cannot be!

This is the motto we follow in TCS. Separate the action
from the child. Focus on the deed and not the child.

 Give consequences not punishment; the difference is in

your tone. Just as we do not have ‘bad’ children, we do
not have ‘bad’ behaviour at our school. Instead we have
behaviour that ‘work’ or ‘do not work’. When a child’s
behaviour does not work, there are (negative)
consequences, as a result of the choice that has been
made. Make sure the child understands the
consequences, but do not use the consequences as a
threat.

 Have the children choose their behaviour: Give children

choices and leave it up to them. Making choices
empowers children. Choosing behaviours that work, gets
acknowledgement and praise; behaviours that do not

18
 work have other consequences. Never give the message,
either through words or tone that the child is bad while
the behavior is being handled.

 When children keep repeating behaviours that do not

work: Inform the Head if a child continuously engages in
behaviour that does not work. The Head may notify the
parent. S/he will request parents to cooperate with the
school to correct specific inappropriate behaviour.

 Politeness: When helping a child verbalize needs, wants,

likes or dislikes, model what to say but never insist on
polite words. The child, will learn from your positive
example.

19
  Profile of a great teacher: Following are examples of
attributes of a great teacher:

This Not this

 Gentle, respectful,  Unfriendly
low toned and  Unwelcoming
calm  Inconsiderate
 Cheerleader  Not understanding
 Requests  Discouraging
 Enthusiastic  Dominates
 Nurturers
 Coaches
 Facilitator
 Positive
relationship with
students and
parents
 Has a lot of fun
with the children
 Engages

Zero Tolerance Policy: Termination if found guilty

 Corporal punishment (that is, physical bodily punishment)
of a student by school staff, in any form whatsoever, is
absolutely forbidden – this includes beating in any form,
forced coercion (that is, moving a student by physical
force); aggressive physical contact of any kind (e.g.
pushing, ear or hair pulling); causing a student or
students, as a sanction, to stand or sit out of doors; and
all such corporal punishments are absolutely forbidden.

20
A school staff member found involved in the delivery to a student
of physical punishment of any kind is subject to immediate
suspension and termination of employment.

 Any verbal reference intended to demean a student by

showing disapproval, including a reference to the
student’s ethnicity, or cultural or religious background, or
to family background, is absolutely forbidden. The staff
member involved will be subject to immediate suspension
and termination of employment.

 Similarly, any demeaning verbal reference to a student’s

physical disability, e.g. oral, aural, visual, or any other
disability, or to bodily characteristics, is absolutely
forbidden and the staff member involved will be subject to
immediate suspension and termination of employment.

 No staff member may at any time, and no matter how

provoked, use “name-calling” (e.g. “Are you stupid?”) as a
means of behaviour modification. A school staff member
found involved in such practice is liable to suspension and
termination of employment at the discretion of the school
Principal.

 No sanction may be applied at any time that is liable to

cause embarrassment or distress to a student.

 Shouting at students is forbidden: Schools in which

shouting by staff or other aggressive forms of behaviour by
staff occur, require Regional management intervention in
21
 the form of the implementation of a whole-school
discipline policy and teacher-training in behaviour
modification strategies.

 The writing of “lines” (e.g. “I must not talk in class when

the teacher is talking” – 50 times) is strictly forbidden.
However, a written exercise may be used as a sanction in
appropriate circumstances.

Health and Safety Procedures

 Accidents and Injuries: Whenever a child is injured
inform the office immediately. The Head will follow up as
needed.

 First Aid Kit: A fully supplied first aid kit must be available
in the schools for minor cuts and abrasions.

 Medications: The school only gives first aid to students.

Teachers are advised not to dispense any medicine to
children.

 Allergies: All teachers must be aware of children’s

allergies. Allergy lists must be posted in each room.
 Toxic or dangerous materials: No play materials which
pose a potential threat to children are allowed-generally
manufacturers’ directions are a sufficient guide to their
suitability or otherwise.

22
 Emergency evacuation drill: The schools will have both
announced and unannounced evacuation drills
periodically. Please follow the procedures laid down by
the school. The emergency evacuation plans should be
displayed in every class and other prominent areas
outside.

 Field trips and excursions: Students are often taken out

for field trips and excursions. For such trips the safety of
children should be of utmost importance. Without
parents’ written consent and waiver, children shall not be
taken for the trip. The duties and responsibilities
delegated to teachers & staff chaperoning should be fully
adhered to. Field trips may not be taken at the cost of
instructional time.

 The playground: The playground is where most accidents

in school occur. Be alert at all times and think safety-first.
Anticipation is the key to safety on the playground.
Teachers on playground duties must be vigilant.

 Identity cards of students: All students are issued a school

identity card at the beginning of their academic year.
Teachers on duty must ensure that young children leave
the school with an escort who produces the school ID
card. In case of a problem inform the Head immediately.

23
Maintenance of Attendance Register
 For the class teacher: Attendance registers are
maintained by the class teachers. The checking authority
is with the Headmistress/ Headmaster; whereas the
regional office audit department does the final checking.
This is an official record and should always be maintained
in ink pen.
(a) At top of each page write the month and year
in full e.g. August 2014
(b) Enter the names of the students in the same
order as supplied by the list from the office.
(c) G.R Numbers must be mentioned accurately.
(d) Add/delete names only when you have
received admission order/transfer order or a
withdrawal order from the office.
(e) Write the reason for each holiday other than
the weekend.
(f) Adopt the following key for making the register

P Present
A Absent
S Sick
L Leave
(g) When counting the number of days a student
attends school, the A, S and L entries are all
counted as number of days a student was
absent from school.

24
 (h) Impress upon the students that they must send
or bring a note to school the following day after
their absence, stating the reason for their
absence.
(i) Distribute challan forms to students as soon as
you receive them and make a note of it in the
register as a (check mark)
(j) Dates of withdrawal, transfer-in, transfer-out
and new admission should be clearly written in
the remarks column.
(k) Before forwarding the register to the office,
please confirm if the student on long leave is
still enrolled and has not left the school
altogether. The closing date should be checked
thoroughly.
(l) Submit the register to the office on the last day
of each month. You should get it back by the
next day. Fill in the names for next month
making alterations in the student’s list if
required.
(m) Long absences of students must be reported to
the Head and should be dealt with
appropriately as per policy.

Meetings
 It is mandatory for staff members to attend all school
meetings. Some meetings may occur after school time.
25
  General staff meetings are usually held at the beginning
of each term and at the end of the year.
 Coordination meetings are once a week.
 Parent-teacher meetings are twice a year. Individual
meetings with parents are held with prior appointment.
 Promotion meetings are at the end of academic year.
 Introductory meetings are at the beginning of the session
for new admissions.

Parent- Teacher Meetings

Parent-teacher meetings are held once a term for each class and
are particularly important for the image of the school and,
therefore, must be well organized. Parents are called at a specific
time to meet the teachers individually. The decorum for such
meetings is for the teachers to speak objectively to parents with a
definite, positive approach. The teacher should not indulge in
arguments nor differ with the policies of the management, or
appear to be disowning the policies. Statements of the teacher
should not contradict the remarks on the report card. Teachers
must come prepared to the meeting, along with the relevant and
updated data of their respective class/ subject and relevant notes
to be discussed with parents.
Appointment with parents

Meetings between parents and teachers are sometime necessary

besides PTM schedules. In such instances, appointments are fixed
by filling out slips issued by the office and sending them to the

26
parent through the student. A copy of the slip is filed in the
student’s personal file so that a record is maintained. In the same
manner parents may arrange a meeting through the office.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Teacher

 Regulations and Duties
Teachers must observe all regulations, follow all lawful orders and
instructions, and implement all systems, procedures and rules, in
practice and in spirit and endeavor to contribute to the success of
the school.

 Teachers’ Duties
Teachers are to teach a full timetable of the subject or class for
which s/he has been appointed. However, extra classes, subjects
or duties may be assigned as and when required.

 Substitution Duties
Teachers are required to carry out the substitution duties
whenever assigned by the Head.

 School Activities
Full time teachers are required to participate in all school activities
and events, whether of an academic, extra- or co-curricular
nature.

 Care of Assets
Teachers must ensure proper care of all assets and properties of
the school in their possession or use, and endeavor to keep them
properly maintained and operational at all times.

27
General Duties
Different duties are assigned to teachers on weekly,
monthly and yearly basis. Information about the tasks
assigned is conveyed through job description, circular
dairy, staff meetings, duty rosters and through verbal
instructions. The duties generally performed by teachers
are:
i) Morning/ break/ late
ii) Soft boards
iii) Assembly presentations
iv) Invigilation
v) Duties related to co-curricular and academic
activities

Briefs – Duties and Responsibilities

i. Teachers are responsible for the student’s
discipline and hygiene. They are role models for
the students, therefore, their personal discipline
and cleanliness is essential.
ii. Teachers are responsible to check student’s
uniform, hair, nails, and shoes daily in the
morning assembly. Prefects to assist.
iii. Class must always be supervised.
iv. Borrowing from each other, discussion and
personal conversation during the classes is
against the rule.

28
 v. The teacher must instruct from the front and
move around to keep an eye on all the children.
During the written class work s/he must
supervise, guide and check students’ work.
Planner writing and checking of work in the class
is not permitted.
vi. Always be on time for your period. Also plan to
have work completed on time.
vii. The teacher in the class is responsible for
switching off the lights and fans before break and
in the last period. In these periods the teacher
must leave the classroom after all the students
have left.
viii. Students may not be detained during break, after
school, P.E., music and library lessons.
ix. Attendance is to be taken daily in the first period.
x. Stationary may not be borrowed from children
for your work.
xi. Speak in a clear, well-modulated voice with
correct language and pronunciation. A level tone
of voice should be maintained in the classroom.
xii. Converse with each other in English.
xiii. Maintain a record of students’ progress
especially of the academically struggling
students. Call parents of these students for
individual meetings if required.

29
 xiv. Maintain a file of all the printed material given to
you, such as minutes, instructions, syllabus etc.
These are school property and must be handed
in at the end of the year.
xv. Check duty rosters for various duties daily.
xvi. All assessment records and planners must be
carefully maintained. Stress on accuracy and
neat presentation.
xvii. All instruction from the office must be followed
carefully.
xviii. Distribution of circulars is the responsibility of
the teacher who is in the class. Students from
class 3 onwards should write their names on the
circulars themselves. Write the names of absent
students on the circulars which should be given
to them on the next day when present.
xix. Prepare the students for the morning assembly
presentations.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Class Teacher

 Attendance of students
 Prepare and maintain progress reports
 Update progress chart
 Receive leave applications and inform subject teachers
 Prepare class rues in consultation with students
 Circular distribution
 Fee challan distribution

30
  Maintain soft boards
 Maintaining students’ files
All concerned subject teachers must assist.

School Soft Boards

 Why do we have soft boards?
Soft boards give an insight into the school functioning and
should be updated regularly. They play a crucial role in
promoting teaching and learning in schools. They are a
very effective resource and teaching aid. The main
function of the soft boards is to give information. The
nature of information differs for different levels and
situations.

 Important steps of maintaining soft boards:

i) Soft boards should be planned appropriately keeping
in view the age and class level of the students. Ideas
for the soft boards must be approved by the Head.
Soft boards should be covered with cloth (any colour)
or can be painted. Avoid using glazed or crepe paper as
it does not last for a long period.
ii) Soft boards must have borders of any colour and
material to present an organized look.
iii) The text on the soft boards should be of appropriate
size. It should be legible and preferably be in printed
form. Avoid using block letters in sentences.
iv) The information should be precise with attractive
illustrations.

31
 v) The soft boards should be fixed at medium height,
neither too high nor too low.

 Soft boards for students

Only children’s work should be displayed on these boards
with their name clearly written. Boards should be child
centered.
School Assembly
A well run morning assembly is an indication of a well-run school.
It is essential that assembly is properly planned and taken by the
competent authority. It is to start a day in an orderly fashion and
allow dissemination of information of urgent natures to students
and staff. It should be short, regular, promptly held and strictly
controlled. It is compulsory for each staff member to attend the
assembly. Class teachers should stand by their class lines in the
assembly and the subject teachers should spread out.

Assembly should start with recitation from the Holy Quran by a

student previously designated and briefed. The Islamiyat
teachers, in rotation, should report weekly in advance to the Head
on future programme paying special attention to Holy days and
festivals.

All students must be taught flag raising and singing the national
anthem with confidence and pride. Uniforms must be checked in
assembly.

 Objectives of the school assembly: The objectives of the

school assembly should be:

32
 i) To unify the school
ii) To widen and deepen student interests
iii) To develop the aesthetic sense of the students
iv) To install the commonly desired ideas and
virtues. (Please refer to TCS’ Values Curriculum)
v) To develop self-expression
vi) To emphasize correct audience habits
vii) To recognize/acknowledge publicly worth-while
achievement
viii) To promote patriotism
ix) To correlate school and community interests.

 Merits of school assembly

i) The planning, preparation and presentation of
assembly programmes offer excellent
opportunities for student participation.
ii) Programmes are prepared and presented by
students; this facilitates them to develop and
enhance the ability to work together toward a
worth-while goal.
iii) They usually include music, drama, motion
pictures, discussions, forums, talks on current
topics by students.
iv) Successful achievement in any one of these
forms of activity may spark a student interest in
a vocation and later towards a career.

33
 v) Special presentations pertaining to seasonal
holidays, such as Eid or national days of special
observance are an important part of assembly
programmes.
vi) An especially attractive assembly presentation
may be repeated either in school or outside for
the entertainment or education of the
community.

 Assembly presentation
Assembly presentation rosters are circulated well in
advance so that the teachers get ample time for
preparation.
i) It should be planned and prepared carefully with
a good rotation of students so that every child
gets a turn.
ii) It should be relevant to the age and the class
level.
iii) It should be creative, based on novel ideas. All
ideas should be discussed with the Head before
the presentation.
iv) There should be variety in presentations. Only
reading out poems or articles should be avoided.
v) Students should sometimes be given a chance to
discuss their small achievements as it gives them
a boost.

34
 vi) A proper file is maintained in the section to keep
assembly logs and remarks.

 Break assembly
All staff members are required to attend the break
assembly.

BEGINNING THE SCHOOL YEAR

Basics
Things to consider the week before:
(1) Organize the classroom
(2) Prepare first week’s lesson – be flexible
(3) Meet school staff (support staff, administration,
librarian)
(4) Plan first day activities
(5) Check supplies i.e. books and papers
(6) Arrange desks and tables, organize centers
(7) Start student’s register
(8) Read your student’s files for useful medical and
academic information
(9) Go over school rules/regulations on discipline,
scheduling, timetable etc.
(10) Find out where things are in the school
(11) Begin decoration of your classroom e.g. posters,
display boards, door etc.

35
 (12) Welcome sign - personalize room for students
(13) Set up some monitoring, tracking records,
personal filing system
(14) Prepare students’ list name tags
(15) Detailed planning for first week-student files,
routines to teach etc.
(16) Decide behaviour expectations process for self
and students
(17) Prepare initial seating plan
(18) Memorize names from class list
(19) Become familiar with curriculum guides for the
class being taught
(20) Collect books, materials, magazine and other
resources.

First day of school

(1) Reach school early
(2) Introduce yourself - project positive, friendly and
approachable manner
(3) Have students introduce themselves to any
student in class they do not know
(4) Conduct some ice breaking activities (brief)
(5) Establish expectations (keep to a few the first
day)
(6) No new academic work - do review activities to
inform yourself about class level

36
(7) Have students help, e.g., take attendance
(8) Make contact with each and every body
(9) Teach some study skills that will help them
survive your class
(10) Establish class routines (washroom, water, etc.)
(11) Teach them how to follow certain routines (how
to enter, to line up, to hang things )
(12) Read to students and gather a writing sample
(13) Prepare class rules - negotiate with students
(14) Make sure students are aware of their
responsibilities
(15) Orient them with school building and other staff
(16) Collect the exercise books
(17) Give the class timetable.

37
 SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS

Note: For complete details please refer to Policy Group 1: 1.1

Learning and Teaching, appendix iv.

Lesson planning
Planning is an activity that perhaps can be understood best by
considering its absence. Can you imagine taking a course in which
the instructors make no effort to identify desired goals/objectives,
devise an execution plan, order text books and other materials,
prepare assignments in advance, organize quizzes and tests and
anticipate students’ needs? Hopefully you have not taken such a
course, for it is apt to have been a frustrating experience.
Spontaneity and surprise may be enjoyable and productive on
occasion but on regular basis they are unlikely to foster sustained
learning. Teaching requires the following planning activities:
Annual/ term-wise planning
The annual/ term-wise planning is in the form of a syllabus/
curriculum document for each subject that is provided by the
Head Office through the regions and includes ‘Scheme of Studies’.
This is a list of topics which offers an outline for the whole year for
the teachers to develop upon and convert the syllabus into a
number of well-defined and individual lessons that are
independent of the other. The teacher then develops the topic
and plans activities and learning experiences in order to meet the
desired objectives.

38
Weekly planning
Weekly planning is usually done in consultation with a subject
chief/ coordinator who has more experience in handling the
subject for a longer time. The topics are marked for the upcoming
week and the content, method, approach, teaching aids and
evaluation methods are decided upon with the help of the
curriculum document. The points are noted down upon which the
micro lesson is developed.

Subject coordination meeting

The subject coordinator of each subject holds a meeting of the
teachers of his/her subject and discusses the previous week’s
work and the next week’s work with them. Any lapses or left-over
work remaining during the previous week have to be carried to
the next week and completed.
The number of lessons due for the next week is discussed. The
selected number of lessons may have a common aim for all the
lessons or two or more aims; therefore a clear understanding of
the aim or aims has to be arrived at for all the lessons that have to
be completed during the following week. The lessons, when taken
separately, may have different objectives but all the lessons for
the week taken together may have one broad aim.
The content of the lessons may be written in very short detail if
necessary, however, the names or the topics of the lessons
themselves indicate the content. The extent and the depth of each
lesson are discussed in detail so that all the teachers working in
parallel classes will do the lessons the same way. Each teacher in

39
the team may plan one lesson which is then copied and shared
with other team members. This helps to spread the workload and
to encourage collaborative planning.
The activities that can be done during each lesson too are
discussed so that the experiences can be shared. The learning
resources that can be used in each lesson are also discussed and
written down. This, again, calls for previous experience which is
shared by all. This type of planning is called Macro planning
(weekly planning) as it covers a number of lessons due for the
following week.
Weekly Curriculum planning
The facts discussed at the weekly subject coordination meeting
are written down on as individual lesson plans by members of the
team. The following topics may be used to write the shared lesson
plans apart from class, subject and topic/s.
Objective/s
Methodology & learning strategies
Teaching resources
Evaluation
This stage is the most important stage in lesson planning as
detailed planning for each lesson is done systematically. Lesson by
lesson planning is done and the strategies are written down
during the meetings.

40
Daily planning
Micro planning is normally done a few days before the lesson. It
requires the teacher to think about the lesson in advance and be
prepared before stepping into the class.
(Specimen Lesson Plan Template is included in the
following pages)
Planning decisions
Before a lesson is taught it must be planned. Decisions at this
stage are called planning decisions. During the lesson itself,
another level of decision making is involved. The teacher has to
make on-the-spot (also called: on the fly) decisions concerning
different aspects of the lesson many of which may not have been
planned. After the lesson the teacher must make decisions about
its effectiveness and what the follow up to the lesson will be:

 What do I want my students to learn from this lesson?

 Why should I teach this lesson?
 How well do I understand the content of this lesson?
 What activities will be included in this lesson?
 How will the lesson connect to what students already
know?
 How much time will I need for each activity?
 How will I organize the lesson into stages or episodes?
 How will I begin and conclude the lesson?
 Is the lesson going to be too easy or difficult for the class?
 How will I deal with different student ability levels in the
class?

41
  What attention do I need to give the other students while
I am working with this small group?
 How will I check on students’ understanding?
 How will I assess learning?
 What role do I take on during the lesson?
 What behavior for learning and classroom management
technique will I incorporate?
 What grouping arrangements will I use?
 How will I handle interruptions to limit interference in the
lesson?
 What are my alternative plans if problems arise? (a plan B
is a very good idea to have)
 What will I do if I have too little or too much time?
 Lesson Plan content

Lesson Planning:
The curriculum writers have provided ‘exemplar’ lesson plans
which pinpoint the important components of lesson plans and so
support curriculum implementation.
Lesson Objectives:
Each lesson plan should contain objectives as written in the
curriculum. These not only provide effective guidance for the
teacher’s planning but also support the teacher in measuring
progress through the curriculum.

42
Starter Activity:
It is good practice to activate learning. Start each lesson with a
‘warm-up’ activity. There are many ways of doing this and
teachers are encouraged to explore these with colleagues. They
should be as differentiated as possible as repeated the same type
of initiating activity quickly becomes boring. The point is that this
part of the lesson may be revision of previous kills or knowledge
in order to act as a bridge between previous learning and what is
to come, or it may be fun and interesting way to introduce a new
topic. Whatever its focus, it should always be a time where the
teacher is getting the students ready for learning.

Learning Activities:
Lessons are not only a guide for the teachers, but they offer a
robust record of what takes place in the classroom. The
curriculum writers have written into the curriculum the
expectations of approaches which will maximize the learning of
the curriculum content. The exemplar lesson plans provide a
support for teachers about the type and extent of teacher
exposition, demonstration, presentation, discussion, discovery,
enquiry-based learning, project-based learning, activity etc.

Plenary (Wrap-up):
The curriculum writers promote active discussion in lessons.
Wrap-up can be used to ‘sum up’ at the end of a lesson. It is also
a very useful strategy for learning up misconceptions and
misunderstandings, and for extending students thinking about a
subject. Peer-to-peer discussion is as valuable as teacher-directed
discussion.

43
Assessment Opportunities:
This will encourage student involvement in the process of learning
and develops the autonomy of the students. The curriculum
provides a clear description of AfL. The exemplar lesson plan
demonstrates how this can be applied in a lesson.
Time Allocation:
Time allocation houses the distribution of time into sections of
attainable targets/ achievable objectives within a lesson. The
lesson would be divided into starter activity, methodology and the
plenary section which enables the teacher to practice and do drill
sessions.

Resources:
Use of books, transparencies, handouts etc.) or any other visual,
audio-visual/ lingual aid usage comes under the heading of
resources.

Lesson Evaluation:
Teachers will use this heading for looking at the teaching tips and
guidelines for better approaches to effective teaching in the class.
Ask yourself questions like:
- What happened during the lesson?
- How much progression was visible in the lesson?
- What effect did the learning activities have on the
students?
- What went well overall?
- Even better if?
- What will you do next time?

44
Lesson Plan Template – Specimen

45
Home Learning
Note: For complete detail refer to Policy Group 1: 1.1 Learning
and Teaching, part 4.
Home learning is a set of activities that are set to be completed
independently, or in groups, outside of the timetabled curriculum.
It contains an element of independent study that is not usually
directly supervised by a teacher. It is important in raising student
achievement.

Not all home learning is done at home; in fact, for some students
who find it hard to work at home, or for some activities that may
require resources (books, software and other equipment) more
readily available at school. For these reasons it is sometimes
necessary, or desirable, to carry out the activity at school.

Why give home learning?

Home learning is an essential part of the wider learning process.

It encourages in students the formation of good habits of studying
out of the school environment, helping them towards a point
where they take responsibility for their own learning.
i. It involves parents in the learning process and, as research
indicates, this is vital to a child’s success at school.
ii. It allows practice and consolidation of work taught in class.
iii. It develops skills in using the library and other learning
sources.

46
 iv. The home learning must coordinate with the class learning
for reinforcement but not to be a substitute for it, not
exceeding the allotted time per class.
v. Follow the home learning schedule given by your Head.

Types of home learning

Home learning can be (but this is not an exhaustive list):
 Independent learning
 Consolidation (but not a continuation) of work in class
 Practice - learning by doing
 Revision and preparation for assessments or
examinations
 Research
 Reading
 Interviews
 Drawing
 Using ICT
 Recording
 Flipped learning (Research and activities set as preparation
for the next lesson).

Home learning during absence:

i. Often when children are absent from school, parents will
request home learning for the child to do at home. If it is
due to illness, and the illness is short term (1-2 weeks) then
the child should be at home recovering and homework
would not be a good idea. However this will mean that
catch up homework may be required when the child

47
 returns to school. The following should be kept in mind in
relation to catch up work:

a) Catch up work should not be sent home as all

new work must be taught by the teacher
before follow up work can be done.
b) Once the work has been taught and the teacher
feels that the child understands then the work
may be sent home if it cannot be done in the
school time.
c) Sensitivity to the amount of work done at home
at any one time is important – let parents know
that if the child is still recovering and finding
the work too much then it should be done later.

ii. If an absence is long term, then revision worksheets of

work already taught may be sent home.

Home Learning timetable

For home learning to be done properly, not only is a basic
allocation of time necessary, but that time must be used
productively. The success of home learning is related to the
quality rather than the quantity set. In the case of younger
students the best home learning practice arises naturally from
work in the classroom (class learning) without a prior commitment
to a specific or regular minimum amount of work required
irrespective of circumstances.

48
Notebook Checking
 Notebook preparation
Page one should have the topic index:
Date Topic

Prepare the test index on the second page as follows:

Sr No. Date Test Max. Marks Teacher’s Parent’s
Topic Marks Obtained Sign. Sign

- The next page is folded to form a triangle and to

write FIRST TERM
- Do the same for SECOND TERM
- Students should write the date, topic and
reference page number of the text on the top line.
 Script

From class 3 onwards students must use cursive writing.

Emphasis should be on a neat and balanced script with proper
spacing. It is the responsibility of the teacher to improve
students’ handwriting.

 Notebook checking

i) Use a green or purple pen

ii) Put small ticks for each correct answer, not
one large tick across the whole page
iii) Write your initials and the date neatly in the
margin

49
iv) Mistakes and errors should only be
underlined or circled, crosses are never to be
used.
v) The correct version to be written above or
beside the incorrect work not over it
vi) Monitor the work in class as it is being done.
Walk around the class holding your pen. Tick
all correct work including the date and
headlines. Whenever you come across a
mistake explain to the student how to correct
it, guide and advice.
vii) All remarks should be positive, encouraging
and personal e.g. Ali, I am happy to see your
legible and neat handwriting/ your sentences
are brief meaningful.
viii) Never write anything negative or derogatory.
Avoid remarks like ‘improve your writing’. Be
more specific e.g. leave spaces between
words/ write on the lines, etc.
ix) For encouragement give stars or happy faces
(pre-junior classes)
x) Teachers may set their own reward system,
e.g., first to complete, best writing of the day.
etc.
xi) Avoid writing ‘incomplete work’ on a class
assignment.

50
 xii) Unchecked work, whether in CL or HL books,
must never be sent home.
xiii) Do not do any checking in the class.
xiv) Fill in a feed-back/Feed-forward form at least
three times a term. (See below).

Feed-back and feed-forward form

WWW (What Went Well)

EBI (Even Better If) and Next Steps

Date:

Student response

Teacher response

51
Assessments
The foremost aim of The City School is to promote students’
learning. If instruction is the heart of teaching, assessment is the
conscience. Assessments pose a challenge not only to the
students but also to the teachers. The result is accepted as a gauge
to measure the competence of the teacher in imparting
knowledge.

 Playgroup to Class 2: Ongoing assessments are taken

through observation of students’ learning while they
are doing their daily class tasks & activities.
Occasionally written assessments in forms of
worksheets are also taken.
 Class 3 - A2: There are ongoing coursework
assessments of the students’ performance
throughout the term. The monthly progress report
conveys the students’ performance during the given
month and includes monthly tests, class-work and
homework achievement.
 Formal examinations: there is a mid-year
examination at the conclusion of the first term every
December and an annual examination every May at
the conclusion of the second term.
 Report cards are sent to parents according to the
following schedule:
 Monthly progress report
 Mid-year report

52
  Annual report

The mid-year and annual reports convey

coursework marks and exam marks (shown as
percentages) and the average of both.

GROWTH AND BENEFITS

Note: For complete details, reference to Policy Document Group 5.

The City School makes available a variety of benefits to its staff

members, as follows: additional

Information about these and other benefits may be obtained

through your Head/ the Human Resources Department.

Teachers Growth and Development

The City School believes that good teachers are not born but
developed through training. The teacher training programmes
help novice teachers to grow into mature and experienced
teachers, fully abreast with the latest developments in the field of
teaching. Apart from regular on job training, class observations,
peer observations and workshops the following courses are
offered by the City School:
 Induction and Orientation
 ITTE
 PDQs

53
We also support teachers who wish to pursue further professional
development through pursuing further studies such as PGCE,
Masters and PhD.

 Self-Appraisal

At the end of the academic year in the month of March,

each teacher fills up a Self-Appraisal form in which s/he
assesses his/her performance over the past academic
year. S/he also rates himself/herself and identifies areas
for further development. These identified areas form the
basis of arranging in- service training programmes in the
following year.

 Training record

A training record of every teacher is maintained on a form

which is filled in her personal file at the end of the year.

 Annual confidential reports

At the end of the academic year the annual confidential

reports are prepared by the Heads of schools for every
teacher. These are read, discussed and signed by the staff
members.

Professional development relief

TCS employees, who join professional development programmes,
are offered financial relief in two ways:

54
 a) Payback facility: the payable tuition fee is split in
multiple monthly installments easily payable by the
participant.

b) Subsidy: TCS proffers subsidy as policy instrument and

encourages employees to take ownership of their jobs
and to strive for personal excellence. Permanent
employees are entitled to following subsidies in
relation with professional development trainings:
1) Local training (in-house training) – 50% tuition fee
refund
2) Foreign training – 100% borne by TCS (this
includes: tuition fee for the study programme,
boarding and lodging, a daily allowance, round trip
air fare and full salary during training)

Staff-children school fee concession

Fifty percent concession in tuition fee, admission fee and
security deposit shall be allowed, up to a maximum of two
children of each employee, after completion of six months
of service.
After one year of service, a hundred percent concession in
tuition fee, admission fee and security deposit, shall be
given for the first child and the second child will continue
to avail fifty percent concession.

The above policy is for PG to O’ Levels.

55
Provident fund
All regular employees excluding casual Part-time or Contractual
employees shall be eligible to become member of the Fund.
Through this facility, the company contributes monthly to the
account of the employee an amount equal to the employee’s own
contribution. This Fund enables employees to save as they earn,
and as such provides a measure of security to the members.

8% of the basic salary is deducted from the salary of each

employee every month. The same amount is contributed and
accumulated by TCS after the employee has completed one year.

Health insurance
 Healthcare Insurance is available to TCS employees. For
entitlement and hospitalization limits, please refer to the
Healthcare Insurance Policy.

 Healthcare Insurance covers hospitalization, maternity

and dread disease expenses. Details will be provided by
the HR Department to the eligible employees.

Employees old age benefit insurance (EOBI)

EOBI is a social insurance, extending old-age benefits (like pension)
to insured persons or their survivors. For every employee's
contribution @ 1 % of the worker's minimum wages, TCS contributes
@ 5 % of the worker's minimum wages.

56
Transfers
TCS has a large network of schools on national basis. This makes it
possible for a teacher, especially a female teacher, to ask for transfer
to another school location should the spouse be transferred to that
city/ town, or for any other reason. This allows for continuity of
service, and convenience of being already familiar with the
curriculum and teaching-learning environment. Such a transfer,
however, is subject to availability of a suitable vacancy in the location
requested for and approval of the competent authority.

The employee can speak to their Line Manager when seeking a

transfer.

EXTRA READING MATERIAL

Principles of Class Management

 Teachers’ attitude to class
i) Have a friendly attitude towards students
ii) Develop a positive regard for all students
iii) Develop an optimistic approach

 Promoting a positive classroom environment

i) Apply practices based on prevention rather
than control
ii) Build a reservoir of goodwill
iii) Show no favouritism
iv) Avoid delays and disruptions
v) Have an organized work routine

57
 vi) Alter procedures that cause disruptions

 Setting class routines and rules

i) Aim for objectivity, reasonableness and
consistency
ii) Establish routines early in the school year
iii) Seek student’s participation in devising the
rules
iv) Have few rules
v) Give positive reinforcement to students who
regularly obey school rules

 Coping with inappropriate behaviour

i) Focus on unacceptable behaviour and not on
personality
ii) Explain the negative aspects of inappropriate
behaviour
iii) Ignore minor attention seeking behaviours of
students
iv) Do not threaten students with punishments
which have no foundation or follow up
v) Never humiliate or ridicule students
vi) Avoid criticism
vii) Never use derogatory terms or label students
– remember, labels are for kitchen jars and
not for students

58
 viii) Counseling is useful for inappropriate
behaviour
ix) Seek assistance from expert staff,
administration and parents.

Classroom Organization
(You may have read some points earlier, they are included
here again for emphasis)

 Attractive and relevant displays must be put up on the

soft boards. At least half the space should be for
children’s work.
 Involve students in preparing a display on a topic. Give
opportunity to all students to have their work put up.
 The script on the displays should be clear and big enough
to be easily read.
 Students should be given proper guidance regarding the
size of the chart they use and the writing on it.
 Progress chart, class rules, class timetable, homework
timetable, name list, weekly bulletin and emergency
evacuation plan should have a proper place on the wall.
 Class seating arrangement should be changed often to
avoid monotony. Students’ seating position should also
be changed regularly, you may have planned schedule
e.g. every Monday a pair of children move up a seat and

59
 the pair in front moves to the back. Also change the seats
from side to the center.
 Teaching aids should be collected or prepared well in
time and properly stored or returned after use.
 Cupboards and shelves should be very neat and
organized with absolutely no mess or clutter visible to
students. Cupboards should have the teachers’ name-
tags.
 A collection of reading material and worksheets should
be easily available for students who complete their work
earlier than the others.
 Keep a few spare pencils, erasers and sharpeners to
avoid delay in work by the forgetful children.
 Encourage students to participate in formulating class
rules. Display those rules permanently. Be consistent in
their application.
 Every teacher must leave a clean board for the next
teacher.
 Desks and chairs should always be in neat rows or
groups, tidied frequently.
 Litter should be properly disposed off in the litter basket.
Students must be monitored for this, and encouraged to
do so.
 Whenever a child does exceptional work or if you want
to encourage someone, put up the work for display.

60
  To collect books, ask the students from the back to pass
the books forward till they reach the front desk. This is
time saving.
 Always keep books in neat piles. Do physical counting of
books to check that all the students have submitted
them.
 The students should keep their bags in suitable places in
the class which should not hamper free movement of
others.
 Regularly check students bags to see that they bring
books according to the timetable and that books are well
maintained.

Attributes of a good teacher

 What teachers think?
i. High expectations
ii. Motivation
iii. Awareness and understanding
iv. Sense of humour
v. Enthusiasm
vi. Caring
vii. Knowledge and expertise
viii. Leadership
ix. Relationships
x. Targets and objectives
xi. Adherence to policies

61
 xii. Professional commitment
xiii. Organization for excellence
xiv. Explicit communication
 What students think makes a good teacher?
i. Clear explanations
ii. Helpfulness
iii. Knowledge and expertise
iv. Praise for achievement
v. Interested
vi. Good discipline
vii. Relationships
viii. Sense of humour
ix. Enjoyment

 What students think makes a good lesson?

i. Variety of teaching styles
ii. Exciting
iii. Investigate work
iv. Clear expectations
v. Success oriented

 Basic guides for teachers

i. Have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter
ii. Have a clear aim
iii. Plan and prepare

62
 iv. Evoke interest
v. Make use of all the senses
vi. Ensure class activity
vii. Beware of your relationships with the students
viii. Consolidate your teaching by stages
 Qualities of a good teacher
i. Show that you are approachable
ii. Show firmness
iii. Show patience
iv. Show confidence without being boastful
v. Be yourself .i.e. your natural self
vi. No favouritism
vii. Be a good example to the children
viii. Be encouraging by giving praise when it is
deserved.

Classroom Factors That Affect Motivation

Motivating students is one of the most difficult tasks a
teacher faces. With a variety of students who all have a
variety of home lives and personal interests, the teacher
must design a learning experience that engages all students
and motivates each to do her/ his best. Design of the
classroom experience, teacher behaviour and types of
assignments can all affect student motivation.

63
 Classroom Structure
According to a study published in the Journal of Educational
Psychology1, motivation is fostered through a structured
classroom environment that meets the basic needs of the
student, particularly in establishing a feeling of safety.
Teachers create structure in the classroom by clearly
communicating expectations and reacting consistently to
student behavior. Additionally, a well-organized course with
pre-determined materials and procedures for assessment
give students a sense of security in taking responsibility for
their own learning.

Teacher Behaviour
Teacher behavior in the classroom influences the student's
ability to connect with the educator, which increases
motivation to succeed. Teacher attitudes, including enjoying
interactions with their students and expressing kindness
toward students, fulfill student needs for inclusion in the
classroom community. To create this type of environment,
teachers should focus on providing frequent and positive
feedback and creating an open classroom environment.
Teachers should also have a supportive style of teaching,
which includes listening, giving encouragement and
responding to student questions.

1
Journal of Educational Psychology; Motivation in the Classroom: Reciprocal
Effects of Teacher Behaviour and Student Engagement Across the School Year;
Ellen A. Skinner and Michael J. Belmont

64
Teaching Strategies
Student motivation increases when the student feels that
the subject material is relevant to his life. Relevance comes
from choosing (connecting your lesson to) topics that relate
to current news, students' cultural backgrounds and daily
lives or technology, for example. Another way to increase
student motivation during the learning process is to allow
students to make some choices in their learning process.
Choices might include the type of assignment or assessment
that a student can do or the classmate a student works with.
Motivation is also increased through the use of varying
teaching methods so students do not become bored with a
teacher's style.

Assignments and Grading Strategies

The degree of difficulty of graded assignments affects
student motivation. Assignments that are too difficult can
undermine student motivation as students begin to feel they
will never succeed, while assignments that are too easy also
undermine student motivation as s/he may feel the teacher
does not believe s/he can complete more difficult work. It is
important to provide students with feedback about their
work so there is no confusion about expectations. (Make
your feedback specific, and not general or generic)
Motivation may also be increased through public praise and
through display or presentation of exceptional work.

65
Introducing Pace and Purpose into Your Lessons
One of the hardest things for new teachers is to inject pace and
purpose into lessons while recognizing the needs of slower
learners in the class.

Adopting an appropriate pace has always been an important

component of a successful lesson, particularly with groups of high-
achieving students who are more than able to cope with at least
an hour of rigorous challenge. These students thrive on the
demands of a lesson that asks them to move quickly through
exposition and review to get to new learning points and to spend
time developing and extending new ideas and concepts. However,
it is extremely tempting to think of a lesson with ‘unrelenting
pace’, where students are constantly engaged and productive all
the time, as being a successful learning experience.

I have observed numerous ‘all singing, all dancing’ lessons where

students have barely had time to breathe before the next activity
was presented to them. In the post-observation feedback I usually
commend the teacher for their efforts and for the quality of the
activities given to the students but then go on to ask the question:
What opportunities did you provide for your students to evaluate
and reflect upon the new material presented to them?
Unfortunately, many teachers, even the more experienced among
us, are loathe to incorporate ‘thinking time’ into their lessons for
fear of students perceiving this as being ‘dead time’ and exploiting
the situation accordingly.

66
They work on the notion that if students are simply too busy to
misbehave then the lesson is likely to go more smoothly. While it
is true that a lively learning pace is a critical feature of a well-
disciplined classroom it is equally true that students do need
reflection time.

To my mind, the most successful teachers are those who are able
to engender a real sense of pace and purpose into proceedings,
but who also provide students with thinking and reflection time.
With this in mind I have provided a range of guidance that will help
you to inject appropriate pace and reflection time into lessons.

The planning stage

Ask yourself who is it that you want to work harder – the

students or you?
Make student learning the main focus for all your lesson planning.
Keep your students busy but provide opportunities for ‘focused’
thinking time. To make your thinking time focused, provide them
with questions, conundrums, viewpoints, etc., to think about.
Make it clear from the outset that you will be seeking a response
from them.

Have an ‘entry task’ ready for the students to do as and when

they come into the classroom
Examples of these are anagrams, word searches, crosswords,
interpreting optical illusions, working out the answers to riddles,
responding to pictures, etc. If you can create entry tasks that

67
encourage students to get their books and writing equipment out
then so much the better. This will help you to make a crisp start
to the lesson and introduce a sense of pace to the proceedings.

Plan a starter activity that doesn’t need a lengthy introduction

but is a quick, focused activity
Again, ensure that you make it clear that this is a task for all
students to do. Introduce a degree of healthy pressure on
students to carry out your instructions.

Write the learning objectives on the board for students to copy

down
If you want to make an even brisker start to the lesson then word-
process your learning objectives and simply ask students to stick
these at the top of the page. By doing this you will not have to wait
for the slower writers to finish.

Write any homework tasks on the board for students to record

Inform students that you will be checking that they have written
down these instructions by the end of the lesson. Have a sanction
ready for those who have failed to do this. This sanction could take
the form of an extra task or a short detention. Doing this will
induce a sense of urgency into proceedings.

The initial phases of the lessons

• Make sure that you move to the door to welcome them into
your room and remind them to pick up the resources.
• Scan the classroom to check that students are on task and not
behaving inappropriately.

68
• Make sure that you are completely ready for the lesson to start
and that all appropriate lesson documentation is laid out on
the desk in front of you.
• Check that your IT equipment is working and ready to use.
Scrabbling through papers on your desk suggests you are not
ready to start.
• Make it your policy not to deal with individual queries until the
class is settled and on task. Don’t get side-tracked by
students’ requests, off-task enquiries, or administration
tasks. Many students are extremely skilled at asking those
interesting but deliberately delaying questions.
• Although it is important to deal with latecomers, you don’t have
to do so immediately. Becoming embroiled in discussions
and/or arguments about lateness only results in valuable
learning time being eroded and will inevitably result in your
having to rush the remainder of the lesson. Briefly tell
latecomers that you will listen to their reasons/excuses later,
rather than letting their explanations delay your start.
• In an ideal world I would always advise that you lay out your
resources on desks ready for the students to collect when
they arrive. However, I am realistic enough to know that in
the ‘hurly-burly’ of school life this is not always possible.
Whenever possible lay out the resources in order of
their chronological use on the desks near to the classroom
door and ‘socialize’ your students into picking these up as
they enter the room as a matter of routine. Doing this can
save so many ‘break in flow’ points in your lesson.
• If you haven’t already done so, while students are working on
the starter activity prepare for the next activity (by writing on

69
 the board, checking that homework has been written down,
etc.).

The core phase of the lesson

Give your instructions for the main activity or key learning points
both verbally and visually. It is important to remember that many
students need to hear and see instructions before they really take
these on board.

Where you have a class of low-ability or challenging students, and

where you are teaching a multi-task lesson, I would strongly
advise you to produce a task checklist. Using this for even the most
basic of instructions, and asking students to physically indicate
that they have completed each task, will dramatically reduce the
number of times these students shout out: ‘What do we have to
do now sir/miss?’

The benefits of adopting this strategy are fourfold: first, the

students will start to take responsibility for their own learning;
second, there are far fewer interruptions to the lessons; third, the
pace of the lesson increases dramatically; fourth, your stress
levels will be reduced!

Exemplar Task Checklist Completed

Write the title of the work into your book and copy down the
learning objective.

70
Create a ‘word search’ sheet, write down as many words you can
find that are to do with the topic of ‘Rainfall’. When you have
found as many words as you can, stick the sheet into the margin
of your book. Using a dictionary, find out the meanings of these
words.

When informing students of the time they have to complete an

allocated task or activity, do so using ‘real’ time. Having a visible
clock in your room is an absolute must! In my experience of
observing lessons, teachers are often too relaxed about the times
they allocate to activities. Five minutes can often become 10 or
even longer. I have observed lessons where the teacher has
allocated the students 10 minutes to complete an activity and,
after four minutes have elapsed, they have called the class
together to ‘review learning’. If students feel that you don’t mean
what you say when allocating a time limit to their tasks, they will
not work at pace, or worse still will not do the work at all.

To give students an indication of how much time they have

already used on their task, you could provide them with a verbal
countdown: ‘You’ve got four minutes, three minutes, two minutes
…’. Alternatively there are numerous ICT-based timers you can use
to display the time on the board or your laptop.
Some timers will, for example, allow you to use music to increase
the sense of urgency. I have known trainee teachers to use TV’s
‘Countdown’ music to signify the final 30 seconds allocated to a
task. If this is not possible in the classroom you are teaching in,
simply ask a student to act as a timekeeper and to keep the class
appraised as to how much time they have left to complete their

71
tasks. Whatever you do, you need to be consistent in setting tasks
in the context of ‘real’ time.

Make your expectations and the circumstances of learning

absolutely transparent to the students from the very start, and be
consistent in enforcing these: e.g., working in silence. If you have
allocated students two minutes to discuss an issue with their
partner, then two minutes it should be. If you have asked the class
to work in silence on a task, then have a sanction ready in the
event of this not happening.

Introducing a competitive element to your lesson can often create

a sense of pace to proceedings. Having said this, you need to be
very careful that the results of the ‘competition’ itself do not
override the learning that is taking place, and that you provide
sufficient scaffolding to the less able and/or less competitive
element in the class.

Using fast-paced classical and/or contemporary pop music can

often introduce a sense of pace to lessons. Alternatively, if you
want to slow down the pace of a lesson, perhaps in situations
where you want students to reflect and evaluate, you might
consider using slower-paced music.
Set tasks that rely on students having to share their contributions
with their peers, either on a partner/group basis or with the rest
of the class. If students think that someone else in the group is
going to take responsibility for making the contribution, they will
be more likely to opt out of the activity. However, if they know
they have to share their personal contributions with a

72
partner/group, or that they will have to demonstrate their newly
gained knowledge to the rest of the class, they will perhaps feel a
greater pressure to complete the activity.

A really good way to ensure that students work at pace and to the
best of their ability, is to circulate the classroom, and where you
find a student not doing this, do not say anything but simply put
the current time in the margin of their page. Doing this is often
enough to convey to the student that you will be coming back to
check how much work they have done since your last visit.

If you are teaching an able group, regularly ascribe the roles of

chairperson or lead-learner to students who will then take on the
mantle of responsibility and help maintain momentum and focus
during tasks.

The end phase of the lesson

 Make sure that you always run a plenary session. Keep

the end-of-lesson plenary short, focused and pithy.
Examples are:
‘You have two minutes to write down two facts you have
learnt this lesson.’
‘What has the poem taught you about yourself?’
‘How can you use the learning from this lesson to inform
other subjects?’
‘Draw a quick sketch that represents the learning you
have done today.’

73
  Get individuals or groups of students to use their
findings to provide the questions for the plenary and/or
to prepare a related starter for the next lesson.

 If you are receiving student feedback during the lesson,

enlist a student to record ideas on the board while you
lead the discussion. This will allow you to scan the class
to make sure that every student is listening and engaged
with the learning.

 Have students clear away in plenty of time and ask them

to stand quietly behind their chairs before the bell goes.
You need to end the lesson promptly so that you can
begin your next ‘pace-driven’ lesson on time!

I must have been a great help to those students -- I taught

them the rhyming scheme of the Elizabethan sonnet and how
to diagram a complex sentence.
(Naomi White 1937)

Note: Are you teaching your students skills and knowledge that
will help them when they enter the real world after

74