NASUWT: New standards – a stick with which to beat teachers
Commenting on the new teaching standards issued today by the DfE, Chris Keates General Secretary of the NASUWT the largest teachers’ union said
“Despite detailed concerns being expressed in writing and orally by the NASUWT, and other organisations, during the consultation on the draft standards, essentially they are unchanged, proving once again that consultation conducted by the DfE is a charade.
“Professional standards for teachers are about defining appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding. However, the new standards conflate and confuse these with a code of conduct. Demonstrating the punitive mind set this Coalition has towards teachers.
“The new standards are vague, poorly drafted, lack clarity, are open to wide interpretation, will breed confusion and uncertainty and will simply serve as a stick with which to beat teachers.
“By his own admission, the Secretary of State inherited from the last Government the best ever generation of teachers.
“In the context of the Secretary of State removing the requirement for teachers to have qualified teacher status in some schools, his abolition of an effective regulatory framework for teachers and the abandonment of the previous professional standards, these new standards are yet another example of the Coalition squandering the valuable legacy it was left.”
ENDS
Stuart Gannon
NASUWT Press Office
Tel: 020 7420 9681
Mobile (and out of hours contact): 07966 198894
Address: 5 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8SD
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