NUT comment on Ofsted Annual Report
Commenting on the Ofsted Annual Report, Christine Blower, General Secretary National of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“Schools do an amazing job with children and young people as this report shows. The majority of schools are achieving great results. Ofsted’s measurement of a school’s achievement, however, never comes under question more than when they evaluate the provision of education in schools where the majority of pupils are from deprived backgrounds. Poverty and deprivation are not an excuse for low educational attainment but they are a contributing factor.
“Schools with an imbalanced intake of children from deprived backgrounds need all the help and support they can get and an understanding that their successes need celebrating for their own sake and not by being measured against national targets and school league tables.
“The support and help that schools in challenging areas need has been drastically reduced by the cuts to local authority budgets. Specialised support for children with SEN through to music lessons and even access to libraries is under threat if not completely axed. Without a doubt this will have a detrimental impact on all schools.
“Despite successive Education Ministers praising the excellent standard of teachers Ofsted never misses the opportunity to create the impression that all is not well. A snap shot class room inspection of 30 minutes by inspectors, who may have little or no experience of hands on classroom teaching, does not give a fair picture on which to base a judgement”.
END pr150-2011
For further information contact Caroline Cowie on 0207 380 4706 or 07879480061
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