Importance_of_Record_Keeping

The Importance of Record Keeping Record keeping can be seen as one of the most toughest and time consuming tasks a new teacher is required to perform. It is, however, one of the most important of their tasks too. Records are kept in all areas of business and life in general. For example, if you went to a football match and nobody kept the score, you would probably be left wondering the whole point of the exercise. This is similar in the teaching sector and records must be kept of individual students' progress and also that of the school as a whole. That being just one of the types of records a teacher may keep. I will now go on to discuss further a selection of the other types of teaching records and their importance. Health & Safety Records It is imperative that a teacher keeps up to date, accurate health and safety records. Some of these may include students personal details and possible medical requirements. For example, should a child fall ill or have any type of incident, then a record of their personal details and next of kin would be needed in order to contact the correct help and assistance. In conjunction with this, should a child or any indeed individual, have any type of accident or injury then a record of this would need to be made so that if the incident is taken any further, the teacher can prove that the correct steps were taken in dealing with the incident. This would also occur in the fitness industry in a gym environment as injuries may occur quite frequently and so records of this would need to be taken, again to prove correct steps were taken in dealing with the injury. Teaching Records Teaching records are kept for a number of reasons. Firstly, a teacher would need to keep a record for themselves so that they know what topics and subject areas have already been taught to the students and also what still needs to be delivered. This would come in the form of a lesson plans and a scheme of work. These are used widely within the teaching industry as they also provide a kind of framework in which the teacher could work to. They also provide evidence to any external assessors of what is being taught and whether or not it is necessary or correct for the students. Similarly, Ofsted regularly inspect schools to check the level and standard of teaching so that parents can make informed decisions of what schools are best to send their children to and to provide evidence to taxpayers that their money is being used correctly and effectively. This is usually controlled by the government, who may choose to withdraw funding should taxpayers money be being misused in any way. Their judgements are based on evidence, part of which is taken from documentation relating to training, assessment, verification and qualifications. It is therefore essential that all teachers maintain accurate records to evidence the teaching and assessment process. Learner Records Another massively important record for a teacher is learner records. These are records kept of what each individual has learnt and in what style they would most benefit from being taught. Firstly, teachers may record what amount of knowledge individual students have on a certain topic. This is not only useful in gauging what the student needs to be taught further, but also as a reference in the evaluation process after a lesson has been delivered. One of the most useful tools a teacher may use is the individual learning plan. A record of this would need to be taken for each student so that the teacher can assess which style of learning their students would respond best to. Teachers would then record evidence of each learners test scores as these may impact on whether or not that student reaches a certain pass mark or entry level required for further education. And finally, records would also be kept on individual students behaviour and progress to be issued on a regular basis to their parents by means of parents evenings and such.